Lonesome Rhodes

Among the most interesting eps yet. Best part was very little retconning. It was good to see the gang menace Khalil faces, but it is always jarring when we see him instantly shrugging that off and acting like he's won life's lottery. I was thinking that the Crips would shoot him during the laser tag match. Silly me. But, him forging such a cool and carefree bond with KJ in the arcade was ridiculous, considering the threat that had just returned literally to his face. The Coop retrospective was true to the character, but it was tough to accept how down she became, forgetting the person and the circumstances now extant. Spence was about as expected. It was weird, though, that he wasn't constantly being approached by the locals. Dude is a friggin' God. Now, if he really had a game on Monday, he would never have had a chance to just hang as he did for a full Saturday as a visiting player and he nevvvvvvver would have done shots. Did both Beverly and SC have a bye week? They would each have played and there was zero mention of such. Maybe it's just me, but it appeared that Daniel was not as blown up (muscular) as he was last season. He looked healthier/better overall, but as an NFL RB, he would have worked like crazy to maintain a bigger physique. Darnel was an absolute hoot! He played the classic fool brilliantly. The lad was majorly insightful and showed loyalty, even as he was complainin' about how lame they all were for so much of the ep. More, more, more, of this please!!!!! Cassius is beginning to bug. He seems to grasp some heavy, and nice, truths, and then chucks it all so the show can have draaaaaaama. I know. Classic soap opera stuff. Yuck. I didn't get why "Flip" was a magic name when it was invoked by Spence in the "showdown" with the Crips. Whatever peace was agreed to ain't worth a fig, though. What's gonna be the collateral damage? TPTB can do most anything they want with that. I feel for Tori. There is no way she wins KJ's heart. None. She's the Icarus of the show.

I'm happy to own it if I am wrong about this...the very last time we saw Bobby with Jordan, he ripped him to shreds, declaring that he was no good. At the top of this ep, he and Jordan are all smiling and lightly teasing. Then, Jordan asks for Khalil to start for the umpteenth time. Bobby is totally cool with that. Rod Serling would be proud of the creation of that new and different dimension. Then, the end when he interrupts Bobby and utterly contradicts him. Beyond any semblance of reality. Mina creates some cray cray quasi-panty raid, the lads show up as directed, in the middle of the night, and she blows it off utterly. Next day, she ducks her responsibility as prez to represent at the pep rally. The HOMECOMING rally. Fiddle dee dee. Rhett took too long to figure out who Scarlet was. Any chance that Khalil and "Jeremy" can extricate themselves without too much more damage? Layla the Oracle is nice and all, and Greta is thoroughly winning in her portrayal. But, c'mon. The confrontation in the hallway was crazy fantastical. The cherry on top was that Amina, the Homecoming Queen, was able to steel herself away - solo - is straight nuts. I laughed out loud when the football official declared the cancellation of Homecoming activities. One thing I really liked was Khalil shouting out praise to Yasi in the locker room. It's tough to squash serious squabbles, and these two worked to make it happen. Good stuff. OK, gotsta end with a football note...the last thing to call when the defense is flying to the QB, is a slow-developing play. A double move is such a play. Yasi would've been killed, figuratively speaking.

Amina is running headlong into she-who-must-not-be-named territory. Miss All That/Grown Up is a straight child. It was fine that she felt genuine sadness when KJ "broke up" with her. They had established a fun friendship and this change would likely end that - especially if Khalil becomes the BF. But, she finally gets Khalil trying to understand, and she runs away. I can't stand her. I thought Chelsea nailed the beginning portion of the break-up scene with Bre-Z. scene. She went from the cold calculation side as she outlined reality, and perfectly transitioned to pure emotion as the break-up was becoming very real. Bre-Z's eyes were dry the whole time, and though not her fault, her words were nonsense -and not because emotion was taking over...it never did. Greta was again on it. She really seemed invested. I hated the phone message to Jordan, but that, too, is on the writers. Lending Cassius her ears was pretty much the best Layla I've seen. There was a real sense of earned wisdom and the connection with him was tremendous. I was so happy for Tori when it seemed she had won KJ. Then, like a maroon (Hi, Bugs), she got an attitude and gave back her victory. That girl would not have lost her mind like that. But, it's AA. Finally, I was gratified, and pleased, to see Khalil admit his fear of never measuring up, which was caused by his dirt bag dad. That was one of the realist things evah on this series. I'm betting this resonated deeply with a ton of young guys. This moment was a fulfillment of the promise of this show. Good on all concerned.

It's almost impossible to make Greta look like a mess, but that outfit at the party is the fugliest thing I've seen her in. Yikes! Yet, she got off one of the best lines while wearing it in either AA series: "Yeah, we are." Tremendous. (and true). I was floored at how weak Marqui's threat was. After all the incredibly dark and fierce posturing, he makes like Keenan Wynn in Dr. Strangelove. "You'll have to answer to the Coca-Cola company." Marqui comes with "foster home?" I can't. Beyond lame. Absurd. We got a marvelous "Mars and Venus" piece from Patience and Coop. Coop was reacting like a guy as she instantly saw the opportunity and how amazing it was. Patience was all into implied feelings. Great, and real, moment. So, just before Jordan was gonna tell GW how sorry he was (with Laura there) guess what he did? He played with his hair. I couldn't even make that up. But it happened. LMFAO. I also loved Bobby cutting Jordan to the core as he departed, telling him he still hasn't proven a dang thing as a coach. I appreciate when a meany maintains his ill will. It's not usual. Cassius and Tori are still my favs this season. It's great how they don't hide their ability to see right through KJ. Despite the moronic "lost Uncle" arc, this was a pretty fun ep.

Coop, the lawyer, did a B&E into a public high school. She heard a pretty good speech, though. Marqui is a real deal menace. I remain surprised they are introducing such a genuine threat in the middle of a romantic triangle. Kahlil has almost no shot at the straight and narrow. But on a TV show... Tori making such a brazen move on KJ was a bit too much. It's within the realm, but she wasn't even gonna be there, and she figured out the storage room deal at Crenshaw? She's still my favorite character, though. Will Preach volunteer to blow Marqui's alibi apart? Cassius' near 180 in attitude with KJ is also not ringing true. Neither does both football teams' winning bigly on the field. Surely, the BHS principal is not a happy camper, right? Man, we have to swallow a lot of nonsense and retconning. At least the grown woman made her decision (all in with Khalil). Until she doesn't. Maybe she could have an affair with a teacher, too? Did she glad hand or talk up any voter in the time before she was to become a pumpkin? There was to be no speech, and the popular rapper made his appearance, wowing the electorate. Genius campaigner, she is.

KJ checks his phone and sees it's time. Time for Pete, Liz, Seymour, Alice, Jason, Bernie, and my all-time crush, Helen. It's time to head a few miles across memory lane (La Cienega) to Whitman High and Room 222! It was no coincidence that 2:22 was displayed on KJ's phone. Major, major props for that callback. Jordan is being a damn fool. "Stealing" a son away from a Crips OG/leader? The show bit off way more than it can chew for this arc. Elle was dead wrong to reach out as she did to Layla. And then to trek out to Beverly unannounced to try to contact her in person?! So much for following 12 Step canon. Where was her sponsor Olivia? She should have been screaming at her to not approach Layla unless it was to make a sincere amend - and make it only if it would not hurt Layla (or others). Liv would know that there was a very great risk of hurting Layla and should have laid down the law. No contacting Layla!!!! At least for now. At this point, it matters not. Tra la tra la tra la. No harm, no foul. Ugh. Don't get me started on Coop pulling what she did. Cassius took this job for a horrible reason. He did it for himself. He needed the kids. No bueno. As a coach, refusing to adopt (steal) something that others have used which is something as old as football, is a fool's ego run amok. KJ didn't turn to Tori for any of the messed up family and team dynamics? This, after mom was being a pain, and then not even taking his calls? Similarly, where was Amina? She's all grown, right? She would know how to help Khalil. She's not afraid of gangs, or nothing. /sarc Coach Bobby, once again, is playing it 100% as most any coach would. He's let Khalil know he is on his radar, but he tamped down expectations. This is a guy I could play for. I am curious to see what the Beverly Principal's gonna do. The championship jersey being intentionally swiped from the trophy case and seeing the spirit that was ignited? Whoa.

Miss me with the possible when you can't deliver. All-time line. Speaks to the show itself, eh? Coach Bobby was entirely correct about Jordan's insubordination. I was surprised he didn't call time out when he saw Khalil entering the game. He's got a long way to go if he wants to be a good football coach. A loooooong way. But, he's the boss and if he is not followed, they're no good (Takes me back to a big scene in The Caine Mutiny). The retconning of Jordan as a weak, ignorant, and unsuccessful football dude is just too much. I'll stop writing about it, but it's a massive and unnecessary contrivance. It is unpossible that the Crips would not be putting hard and intense pressure on Khalil to forget about this student and athlete stuff. They simply can't abide being second choice less their reputation and internal morale (such as it is) suffers. This dynamic would add a lot to Khalil's arc as he really is being rather heroic. Then again, Crips issues would not allow for the Amina crush. Coop would sit on her super hard. Bobby was also spot on with his observation about Billy Baker's disregard for base realities. What Jordan does not get, however, is that his dad would not praise him for being right. The ends do not, and can not, justify the means. Fighting internally for Khalil? That's the best of Billy. Good on Jordan for realz. Not buying KJ's 180 on accepting team over self. I could see him doing it for show, but a true tectonic shift in a life in one day? Puhlease. Tori rules. Interesting to see that Beverly's scoreboard is green, just like Crenshaw's. I do like the thinking behind putting the final score and brutal article on the wall, though.

This one gave me mental whiplash. This version of Jordan is just not believable. He became a major stud QB. Now, he questions every last thing about his place in football. Sure, he has a difficult boss. But, that boss cannot take away his very real accomplishments and acumen. Layla just demonstrated perfectly the wisdom of not advertising a pregnancy until some weeks have passed. What does Liv do? Jumps the gun and leaves that monumental 411 in a voice message?! Huh? Liv also utterly blew up Elle's anonymity. Hard to find a bigger sin in AA recovery. The self-introduction Cassius and KJ chose at their first day at practice was darn near perfect. Everything they said was dead on in a football culture. Of course, the show has them disavow all of it. Ay yi yi. Kahlil is the sweetest guy Amina knows. Riiiight. The lad was rebuked and challenged at the beach by his Crip brothers. Any chance he would not have doubled or tripled down on being hard and tough? No. Instead, we get a contrite guy who makes a sincere apology to an interloping authority figure from Beverly? Coop's panic was the best part of the ep. It was organic and it was not overplayed. The big question for me is if the Prof will become a lover for her. I'd bet a lot on "yes." Is Elle gonna be the device to bring back Layla the impresaria? Not sure why the weasel Principal was given such a spotlight tonight. A good hint, though, is how he dissed the football team again. If there were Boosters there, and IRL there would have been a significant number, he would never have pulled such a stunt at a Baker dedication. Unpossible. Yasi was a fun element this week. He made some rather fine points, too. I like Tori. Soon enough, she'll be subsumed by relationship angst. But, for now, she's pretty savvy and confident - despite (or maybe due to?) athletics basically being taken from her. Where was the head coach during the practices? THAT guy would never, ever, evahhhhh, miss official practices. Back-to-back absences? What song was Coop spitting out when she was dealing with her panic attack?

Of all the places TPTB could have used as KJ's home, they chose one of the all-time most notorious spots for gangs - Oakland. One guess as to which famous football player was a banger in Oakland before becoming the hero of heroes? That would be Orenthal James Simpson. KJ reminds me of Damon in "Homecoming." He's no Spencer. His way has nothing to do with the less than hopeful sacrifices necessary. He's also nowhere near as built out as he needs to be. I'm super confused about Jordan. Was he not the hottest NFL QB prospect in CFB? He was assured to be a Top 5 lottery pick. Of course, he really wasn't, but the show insisted that he be declared such. So, the second coming of John Elway he was. Now, why was he wearing very loose fitting clothes the entire ep? Looked to me like our hero has developed a gut. The one thing I really liked in this new iteration is Cassius. He's the new Billy Baker. What law school is Coop in? She sure has boatloads of free time to lollygag around. I have no time for Amina. Of course, TPTB have set her up to be point on the various tensions of trying to live in a Spencer world, or the thug world. Yawn. (Not to minimize the VERY real tensions in SoCal and elsewhere). This continuation is desperate for cameos from the original. There is so little that is compelling from the add-ons.

Some people need killin'. Beth be one of them. The moment of the series, imo, was when she had told John in the barn that they had won, only to have that super ceded with a final message of revenge. This is when it was proven beyond all question that she was wholly subsumed by evil. Her odds of ending well are monstrous. Kayce is most definitely the one who took the Hero's Journey. He pretty much finished it well. He even managed to drag Monica along that same trail. Her former self was a horrid mess. But, through Kayce's patient love and mentorship, she chose to open her eyes that character has not a thing to do with identity. I was happy for her that she got to witness the overwhelmingly profound negotiation between hubby and Rainwater. It affirmed the best of her culture and her choice to live her vows of fidelity as a wife and a mother. This all was truly a Great Escape for both of them. The murderous fight between Beth and Jamie was a joke. How many pauses for conversation were there? Beth figured out pretty quick that Jamie would beat her if the fight were prolonged. She would have done most anything to end him ASAP. But noooooo...she had to rehash. Jamie was just as guilty. What farce. The forensics would easily and certainly put Beth's story to lies. The lack of blood on the floor from the time the cops arrived was also a joke. Rip did not have the time to clean it all up. Traces of it would be discovered all over and the amount would be discerned. It's insanity to buy the unspoken acceptance that she will get away with it all. This whole mess was catnip for the sensationalistic media. If Rip is such a fantastic leader, how did he not know that a huge and pristine ranch in Montana was on the market? How did that fact never come up in all the build-up? I dearly loved the display of tough love, cowboy-style, being honored. Idiot Jimmie finally figured it out and he was loving life. He earned respect and he now knows he is worth a spit. No man can ask for more, imo. Leave it to Rainwater to put the final bow on this series: "The Creator did it." For all the power and might on display from minute one, this story demonstrated the ultimate futility of man. I genuinely love the circle of the sanctity of the land closing back, for at least awhile. It was a great touch that its long-suffering keepers are again its stewards. As I've said before, I have much respect for Costner's original vision for this show. I'll never know if this was the ending he ultimately wanted, but it absolutely worked.

I agree. I should have been more clear. Beth/John took out huge mortgages through the years, the last one partly as a maneuver to transfer ownership/management. That debt would transfer to whomever buys/acquires the property (Probably Rainwater). And that's why Beth never thought of the $1 solution. Nobody would take on that debt. It's all a Sheridan construct and I'm sure it's not kosher in several aspects.

I'm pretty sure John made Beth Executor and made her swear that everything left, if anything, would go to Tate. The haste was due to the Guv's plans to seize everything he could, with the Assembly's approval, by removing any protections JD may have managed to wrangle. It was a matter of days, IIRC. Market Equities was not playing, either. They were already building out some land (not sure who most recently owned said land).

I loved this ep. Sure, the beauty shots and the shows/sales didn't do much for the story, but it was a fitting goodbye to that life. I adore Travis. His code is better than John Dutton's ever was. He made his deal with the Devil and he does not apologize, same as John. Very much like Beth, he does have a very limited redeeming side. I hope the "solution" closes the circle of the Dutton's and the Confederated Tribes. This would be a phenomenal way for the series to go out. Jamie's "solution" is entirely unworkable because he could never claim jurisdiction away from the Helena P.D. and from Kayce's badge. More importantly, he would never have the stones to actually carry out the various deceptions. He'd also be impeached so fast that even Beth's Bentley couldn't match it. Teeter's verbal assault on the bar dude was epic. It was all kinds of wrong, but it actually was right. Atta girl. I'm pretty darn sure that there is no actual way for the Dutton sibs and Tate to walk away with any real assets/cash. The gargantuan debt remains, whomever ends up with it. But, I'm perfectly willing to suspend disbelief. This final hurrah was magnificent, and in its many flaws, beautiful.

That Jimmy is even at that ranch and allowed to work is as big an affirmation of his worth as anything else could be. If the others didn't rip him for doing some doofus thing, it would be the ultimate disrespect (indifference). It's like in football (another macho enterprise) where if a coach is yelling at you, it's to make you better. If the coaches stop yelling, it means they've given up and you may as well quit the team. I also saw ultimate respect and regard paid to Jimmy when his grieving manifested. The detective was absolutely correct as to anything he could see in plain view within the space he was welcomed to enter (the living room, in this case). But yes, it does not extend to the full house, hence, the cops left without searching anywhere else. I'm glad Sheridan clearly outlined why Beth has gotsta steer clear of Jamie while the heat is on. She has the choice to try to save what she can for her family, or exact well-earned revenge on a *** not worth it. We now have the Governor and the Helena PD in full agreement that Jamie needs to go down and go down hard. Is she wise enough to understand that murdering Jamie would never fill the hole she has and that being at her best and strongest for Rip and what's left of the land is where redemption of any kind lies? Perhaps the most poignant moment in the series for me was the visual of Teeter leaning on her horse's neck with Walker (name?) on his horse with head bowed and hat in hand at his waist. What a beautiful and profound expression of loss and agony. Words would only cheapen that. For once, Sheridan knew to stand down. Nits: The Mercedes' back door not having been instantly (automatically) locked when the daughter was inside was inexplicable...Kayce's mystical vision was to specifically engage in a MAD scenario with the hit boss? Nuh uh. It would have been more general, e.g. do whatever it takes to protect his family, or that a "coup" was required. He'd be a pure fool to not discuss the details and approach with his Special Ops buddy prior to taking action. I'll end by observing Beth's parting words to Carter, "Sure, you do." are rich as can be and fraught with meaning. Is his family herself and Rip? Is it the Yellowstone crew? Is it the Cowboy-world writ large? Well done, Sheridan.

Great ep. No way could the new Guv pull off his stunt Assembly resolution in that moment, but it sure was fun to see. I also am having a problem with the Helena P.D. Chief organizing that presser with significant support beside him on such an expedited basis, let alone that he instantly chose to go hardcore by declaring a homicide instead of "unknown" cause of death. But, again, it sure was fun to watch. Awesome to see Rainwater so weakened, yet determined as always to search for anything that can prolong that environment. His outline of the feckless and corrupt federal government was tremendous. The mysticism (visions) is super interesting to me. I am happy to suspend disbelief to see where it goes. Mo Brings Plenty, indeed. Sheridan has boxed himself (and Jamie) in. Sarah would be quickly connected to Jamie and the investigation of her murder would bring heat our boy would never have the stomach nor the smarts to handle. Beth will have to steer entirely clear of him because of the full-on and legit investigation of John's murder, but that would take away so much draaaaaama. It does not make any sense at all to me why Kayce had not already invoked police powers and pressured the Coroner. Nothing was a higher priority to him than figuring out what really happened to his father. But, again, fun sequence. I am totally looking forward to more scenes with Kayce's Special Forces buddy.