Lonesome Rhodes

Me not feelin' Simoney, either. It's quite a thing to me that the one real victim here made an amend that wasn't hers to make and now she is gonna experience a betrayal she'll carry with her the rest of her life. Of course there aren't any guarantees that a given romance will turn out to be "The One." The odds, in fact, are very large it will not be. Yet, Lando's moving on with a Simone, with all the lies and hurt in their "family," is a particular gut punch. Classic "world revolves around me" moments in this ep. The Athletic Council mess was stunning and hogging all (8?) the courts (I know, she didn't arrange it, but she sure told the spoiled brat to get lost) on a perfect weather day well displays her arrogance. She also refused to step back and allow an up and coming member of the team to grow. Blowing off her House? What's the excuse? She's almost certainly cured? Look, the thing here, though, is that her natural need to circle the wagons feeds her worst narcissistic self as endlessly demonstrated through the years. I did enjoy Cam's awakening. He's much the better for it. There's little doubt he did not register his song for copyright, though. He won't see a nickel for it. Gabby's hardcore self is really cool. I hope she doesn't rebound with Cam. She has way too much going for herself. If Cam is right for her, he'll still be right for her in a couple of years. She's perfect for Layla's (or anyone's) burgeoning empire. What a montage! Jordan!!!! But, no baby. Nate and Keisha in NYC. Smells like spin off. Well, it would if the show were actually popular. Then again...the original AA is moving there, yes? Hmmm.

The top 10 acts perform one last time for their chance to win $1 million and be named the most talented act in America.

Can we vote for Sky Elements on Sunday or Monday night when their performance concludes? No need to wait for the actual Finale competition (Tuesday), right? It's a joke that Richard was the singer who made it through. It's great that only one singer made it.

What a rich ep. So many ongoing arcs being wrapped and the outlines of the future without Bringston. Netta was brilliant in the kiss-off scene. I honestly believed she was personally going through what Keisha was experiencing. So authentic. So real. The choice of having Cam grasp her face and give her a light kiss as he announced he was done was another excellent moment (from both actors). Simone. Ugh. It's par for the course, but to honor her for escalating the traffic stop (team bus) is outrageous! The situation was handled and was defused. But, noooooo! Our girl haaaaad to go against the express orders of her coach and rile it all up. And she is a Rosa Parks?! The incident was awful. The cops merit criminal convictions and jail. No question. But, there is no point in agitating jerks like them and potentially giving them an excuse (in their small minds) to mess with and hurt the detainees. This is a huge misstep by TPTB. I LOLed when I saw the citation at the bottom of Simone's HOF plaque: "Three-time conference player of the week." OMG, watch out ATP! Now, the concept of an HBCU athletics HOF is wonderful. There is an HBCU alum HOF (National Black College Alumni) in Atlanta. The focus is much more broad, but it is allll about the proud legacies of the schools. The Athletics inductees are bigtime. A deep irony to me is that one of the very first things they established was, wait for it...an annual HBCU tennis challenge! I wanna be on the Bringston Board. Better than a Six Flags roller coaster park! Nice (not) that Amara got it done in two days and we never saw her. Very bad form, show. Why was Eva wrong to ask Lando to stay away from Simone? She was direct (communication!) and her affect was not confrontational. She expressed her fear and was hoping to avoid an obvious potential betrayal, a la J.R. and Keisha. Good on ya, Eva. Now, run. Run far away from Lando. Good to see Nate being less than a saint. She was dead wrong to shutout Ryan from her application process and the results. The snooping was a new low. That final scene where it looked for all the world that a proposal was forthcoming went too far. Much too elaborate and evocative of a marriage proposal than a friendship enhancement. Nice to see the game and the bottle of wine being used as props twice. Saved cash. Did we see "family breakfast" on campus before?

Solo singers underwhelmed (shocking, I know). The country trio were excellent in harmony, but boy, was the big guy's solo at the end awful! Screeching, he was. The sand magician is a wannabe quick-change artist? The execution of the "light bulb" choreography was pretty bad. Were that his first audition, I doubt he would have got three votes. Rhythm was flat out amazing. Again. The "small" things were what really stunned me. The leg crossing as he was looking away from Loni was incredible. How on earth was that taught? Fine by me if they take it all. The comedian does a great job of adding mirth with all manner of body contortions. He's really working it. Too bad his material doesn't pay off in hearty laughter. The Simon-with-his-Howie-picture bit was genuinely funny (again with added movement). But, nothing else drew more than a smile for me. Kelsey the rope artist and the athletic dance group hit their marks very well, indeed. I'd vote both of them in over any singer(s). Solange is incredibly fortunate that she was given the final spot. If production had buried her at, say, 35 minutes into the first hour, she'd be forgotten. Her routine was nowhere near as fantastic as she was in the quarterfinal. Not really her fault, but it is what it is. Her act requires unreal detail and planning. the compressed schedule is too much for her to overcome, I believe. The drone art simply does not belong on this series. I am not pleased that the jidges made sure to add the super important emotional and humanizing to what is basically a computer program. They know darn well that is the secret to garnering Ameriker's votes. Boy, did they lay it on thick. Simon overcome? Absurd.

I was gonna comment on the lack of Nate, as well. Not even a mention. Super weird. J.R. has it coming, imo. It's also quite foreseeable that a House war could break out. Are we done with the Freshman who Simone took under her wing? I'm glad Loni gets to go out as a intelligent and fierce woman. One had to wonder since she was never there when things were falling apart earlier/pre-diagnosis. Having said that, it is beyond any sense of credulity that she would have been so wholly ignorant of Simone not being coached. Ya think that maybe Loni would have asked Thea if said coach could stop by and address her team sometime? How about asking for just one practice session from Simone to see any progress being made? Simone never left Atlanta that entire time. Any chance Simone asks one of the young gentlemen to inseminate one of her frozen eggs? Or, maybe Nate would ask to use one in order to become a mom?

Contestants vie for a place in the Finals.

Glad to see the magician Dorenbos again. The three chosen to advance made AGT sense. The pimp spot certainly did not hurt the little girl singer. The Semifinal is gonna be very tough. Here's hoping the acts are all at their best.

"Simone don't need anybody." Perfect encapsulation of the narcissist. Keisha figured out that she needs to be a very high, if not supreme, priority for her mate. Fair enough. Any chance she does not make her career more important than J.R.s needs? What she still refuses to get is that it is all about professional performance opportunity and not "schooling." She's already studied under a bigtime instructor and can't even get into a school which she has to pay gazillions of dollars to, and not receive any from them? If Luam asked her to join her crew, THAT would be the break of a lifetime. THAT is where Keisha would learn if she's really got it. Thea let slip this very point when she plaintively cried out that she started too late (because 15-yr olds were beating her). YES! A star at Bringston is practically nothing in the big bad world of pro tennis. Thea has the makings of being a good coach. That is where she could carve out some big success in tennis. A scene that really bugged was when Simone got the call to go see Loni. She was hella pissed at her mom and walked away, demanding that mom be sure to lockup when mom left. Then, Nicole goes into her room, assumedly to get ready for the showdown with Coach. Well, the blocking was horrible! Why would Simone give that very specific direction, knowing she was about to go deeper into the loft and would have to pass her mom at whatever point she went out? This type of sloppiness has been an issue throughout this series. I'm sure they've had a super-condensed production schedule since it's so expensive. yet and still, this stuff betrays a lack of respect for the audience. Good that the baseball fantasy is done with. A great lesson for all was the awareness of J.R. and Lando that what mattered was that they gave it their all. Indeed. Life does not always reward being "right." Outcome goals must not overwhelm the goal of giving your best and living with the results. Sometimes we win, but mostly, dreams are not fulfilled. It's all in the effort. Good stuff, show. I think Cam needs to reach out to that music mogul, Layla. He can write for Patience. He's gonna last maybe two months with Big Hank. Maybe. Anyway, here again, the Bringston education has nothing to do with success in the cutthroat music industry. Did Cam quit his gig as a receptionist for Amara? Poor Gabby.

Very, very underwhelming end to the Quarterfinals. It did pick up a bit in the final hour. Simon brought not shade, but utter darkness. Whoa. The problem is that he was pretty much justified. I must say it was refreshing to hear singers being ripped. It would have been better if they had not made it this far. And Simon, the little girl sounded well short of amazing on my TV. The one special act for me tonight was the quick change artist. She did a decent job telling a story connected to her stunts. No guesses from me, other than the quick change mom will go through.

Contestants vie to advance to the Semi-Finals.

Classic AGT results. Simon's shade has often carried the day and it did so here again. At least Kelsey made it.

I was gobsmacked by the precision of Sabrina and the inventiveness and lightning quick changes from skirt to cape, and back. I cannot believe the timing of the movement of the "capes." How did they manage it? They've set a standard for large group dance that may never be met again on AGT. There have been others who have been fantastic with arm and hand movement and others who had tremendous choreography they executed with their full bodies. I've never seen an act that incorporated the elements of dance with a prop as stunningly as these young ladies. To quote Simon, "Brilliant!" Now, bad Simon made an appearance tonight with the shade he threw at this group. I loved that the audience was going berserk (as I would have), which belied his deception. There was most certainly some agenda beyond the talent displayed on that stage in that moment. It's fine to not fully appreciate a given category of performance. Just don't lie about a singular achievement. Man, I felt like I was transported to Idol where Abdul was disgusted with his deceit. The aerialist was great. But, that isn't really my cup of tea. She absolutely earned a ton of votes, though. Another style I just do not care for are the shouting singers, as in a lot of Gospel singing. Imagine 90 minutes of that in concert! Ugh. Of course Dee Dee was awarded Heidi's GB. The talent required to do this form of singing is certainly evident. It is evident in any of hundreds of churches across the USA on a weekly basis. The magician's presentation is turrible. I get that it is a vestige of his health issues. He deserves a boatload of credit. No question. However, he does not merit a Semi-Finals. Maya rocks. So did the session band behind her. Definitely one of my votes tonight. The results could go most any which way. Not unlike the food Jellyboy eats.

Hard to believe what I just saw. It's arguably the most indulgent ep I've seen across TV through decades. There certainly was a freedom in understanding the series was done. Good on all concerned for taking full advantage. It's official. This Lando is the coolest one since Billy Dee Calrissian. I feel sorry for the lad since Simone is the focus of his ardor. Production almost blew it by including the absurd hissy fit Lando came with. Super out of the character and context of the moment. Really, really, bad misstep. Glad they chose to clear it up straight away. The repeated cookie burning was ridiculous, too. The J.R. scenes were pretty cute. I would have lost a ton of cash betting on Damon being behind the door at the end. Am I a bad person for believing the make-up artist is prettier than Simone?

Contestants vie for a spot in the Semi-Finals.

I get it, but I hate it. Cutey Patootie boy was by far, the weakest in performance of the Top 5. In terms of the young ladies who shriek a lot, he was unquestionably the most popular. I managed two out of three, missing on Bboy. Ameriker did Ameriker things. The big question for me is Sky Elements (drones). AGT had one heckuva problem on their hands should these guys have made the Finals. Two more taped presentations? Was this an occasion for SYCO to go against the actual vote? I have ZERO evidence they ever have. I do know, however, that they have reserved the right to do anything they want. Does anyone remember the "panels" they've used for instant results? I wish Sky Elements all the best. Franco's act tonight wasn't all that, imo. I was most impressed by the card trick. Then again, he knew it had to be an Ace through 5 since he was using Sofia's hand to determine the value. The "future" board appeared to be electronic, which could easily be used to write in the tricks used to that point. I genuinely loved the conversation that he and Shin Lin had. Sure, it was heavily edited. Yet, I sensed they were each expressing real gratitude with a sense of wonder. Very compelling to me. Next week's menu looked quite underwhelming.

Among the best eps in the series. Netta had probably her strongest performance. I totally bought her breakdown early in the ep when she was telling Cam he had no real reason to believe there was anything going on. Just perfect, imo. I also think she was at her prettiest in the beginning when she had a simple straight hair style with a couple of soft curls. This ep is the reel I would use were I her agent. We never got any explanation as to any issues in DC which led to Amara coming home early. I got the distinct impression she was hiding something, very much like Simone was. The angry dinner was great. For once, they all behaved like normal folks. There was seething and rage underneath the entire gathering. 99% of the time, this show glosses over such and fashions ridiculous happy outcomes. Not this time. It allll came out and it was REAL. I wish there would have been much more of this through the seasons, but I get that this is basically a fantasy and idealized show. I'm glad we got some realism and that the arcs progressed organically. I really wanted to buy the menacing blow-up between J.R. and the frat brother. I thought it was a joke that J.R. had a final snarky retort, just smiled, and walked away. This was one of those situations I mentioned above where tough consequences get smoothed over without cause. IRL, they would have thrown down. I, too, missed the backstory of Mama Simone having given up her career to help someone else. The text from Marcus to his father was simply, "Happy Thanksgiving, Dad. When you have time, I'd like to talk." The Cougs and the Beavs got royally shafted by their Pac 12 brethren. I hope they, and the CW, somehow do well. I also want an election based on ideas and facts.

Brutal night. Thoroughly excellent acts are gonna be eliminated. AGT at its best. Legion got jobbed by the flaming red background. It were as if someone wore green in front of a green screen. The body flames themselves were muted by that overwhelming backdrop. They did themselves no service by doing so much pure dance choreo, dropping their percussive instruments. Their timing was pretty bad/not in sync. Howie is again correct as the Prophet of Doom. I love this type of act, I fear they are toast. Flower petal magician created a beautiful space. I guessed part way through that there was some type of image projection involved when the lone petal came down his left side and into his cupped hands. The release of a bunch of petals from those hands happened a tick before the single petal reached his hands. Having said this, the end was phenomenal in concept and darn good in execution. 1,000,000% Vegas show material. A bit surprising he did not get the GB. Perhaps Howie was counting on America's vote, as Simon predicted. If the boyband singer were my finalist, I'd have to never watch AGT again. BBoy certainly is inspirational. I don't see the act as scalable, as in what new/different elements can be added? I was a bit stunned he did not get the GB. Brooke sang aight. Howie is again right. Hard pass for me. Sky Elements' drone act just doesn't translate to home TV. Maybe it does on IMAX. It is not fair that they get a post edit (It was not LIVE. Sunset was 10:30 ET). I got a chuckle when Simon's visage appeared. It looked more like Dick Clark, to me. Wonderful concept but it needs to be outdoors, or perhaps re-created in the Sphere. The Footworks act from Japan is so cool as they mimic zero gravity. I liked the choreo better the first time, but this was darn good. Deserving of a GB, imo. I did wonder why Howie had held off to that point. Turns out it was in service to another faux jidge controversy. ZZZZZ Love the South African group. Hated the arrangement of that iconic song. Not Top 3 for me tonight. Schumacher. Next. Ashley Montague ramped up using a firewalk over bottles (not unlike Legion's fire gambit). I am in awe of her ability, I just can't give her a Top 3 vote. Hope she is in the Vegas act. Man, NiNi is such an amazing act. Simon is right, though, about the backing track choices. Another obvious Vegas act. LOVED her intro when she said she would like to buy Hurricane. Another super tough week to predict. I would vote for Nini, Legion, and the disappearing magician. My guess is that Bboy, Sky Elements, and the magician go through.

Acts vie for America's votes to advance in the competition.

Absolutely right, if this is all they got. I thought maybe they were advanced to the Semis????

The excellent quality of the acts this week is vastly superior to the rot we endured prior to the break. At first, I feared this was going to be AGT:AI. Singing and singing and singing. Was Seacrest gonna pop out in a cameo? Ugh. The music was fine. There are other singing shows. AGT is the one outlet for variety. And the variety was astounding tonight. I'm not sure I like the new GB to the Finals. but it was put to good use by Sophia. That acrobat balancing act is great, but there are not a ton of new moves they can add as differentiators. Now, they only have one more routine to create. The dog act really presents a unique skill. Definite Vegas material. Scary girl was well executed. I wouldn't give her a vote tonight, though. The Tina Turner singer was darn good. The Country group was good, but not special. The janitor was aight. It's allllll backstory that keeps him in. He is out of his league. Nice man. The large dance group in blue was in no way up to standard. Howie was right. He finally broke the spell that seemed to be cast - he offered the first bit of negativity. It was remarkable that it took so long. This is gonna be a super tough culling. If there is to be a Wild Card, I'd bet one of them will come from this ep. My bottom two are unquestionably the rapper and the twirler. Darned if I can come up with a solid top 3. Most any combination of the remaining 8 is justified, imo.

Now that the Paris Olympics have ended, the show returns to its Pasadena home and also goes LIVE. It's the beginning of the Quarterfinals.

We got the ULTIMATE Simone moment. She is the only one who could twist fantastic news into frustration over a best-case scenario. She already knew that tennis was impossible if there was to be any treatment. She literally has not been able to play for some time as it is. I am in awe of just how cray cray she is. She got her diagnosis, and she still refused to let her Mom and Aunt know. That's the girl! As cunning as she has been from Day One in the other show right through to now, she couldn't see immediately that any and all of her medical procedures could be rearranged? None of the gang did, either?! What can't be put off are the side effects of her course of treatment - to include the actual surgery. Coach isn't gonna make it her business to see how her "star player" (LMAO) is progressing? By the by, who is the team Captain? I sincerely would not want anyone to get the tough break Simone is dealing with. Yet, this show is too dang important to put out such unrealistic and fantastical solutions like TV has done forever. The impressionable viewers are getting a warped view of handling intractable problems. Honoring Simone for her grit at the expense of the tennis team that has a basic need to know the availability of players is very bad form. Bad on Thea, too, for reversing her ethics. It's fine that she has created a good path for Simone to maximize her recovery. Lying to Coach by omission is entirely antithetical to the fierce Captain we were introduced to. Remember her? We got the craziest Nate we've yet seen. Cuz greets her and loves her style/look. But no, she takes it as a phobic compliment. Miss Tolerant wasn't very. The family has long accepted that Nate would not have a thing in the world to do with Cuz. But, Nate chooses to believe they will chastise her for continuing her rational freeze out. It is good, however, to see that the most empathic of the "friend group" (tm Lando) can be every bit as silly as the lot of them. It was also good to see a heartfelt apology by her. Valerie was an excellent character to introduce, even at this late date. She does not fit easily into a cookie cutter. The show has not done well with young characters who were not obviously good or bad. I truly enjoy thinking about what she is most about. She could fall anywhere on that spectrum. Cool. If the show is moving to a Simone/Lando ending, they are doing a really good job building him up as a worthy choice. He's a guy I would have loved to know. Really good and capable guy, with a fun and mischievous side. Thea initiated a sincere hug? Can peace on earth be far behind?

Boy, was my inner Clara Peller triggered! If that's beef, World Peace must be right around the corner. J.R. for U.N. Secretary-General! Keisha makes Fosse look like Urkel. Smash hit show...All That New-New! Mickey Rooney and Judy Garland must surely recognize the passion for putting on a show. I was really confused, however, when the infamous final practice for Simone was held in the open public space of the student union. There was even an extra walking through the scene. What happened to debuting at the actual show? So, if Simone still has the musculoskeletal issue, how on earth is she supposed stay tennis active? She chose to avoid Amara, but open up to J.R. Riiiiight. I love Thea, but for the life of me, I can't figure out why she is recurring. It was good to see her court ferocity again, though. I have found myself concentrating much too much on the costuming lately. The ladies certainly bring the pretty, but those rags they are wearing? What was with that monstrosity of a leather chest version of a fanny belt Keisha was featuring? The baggy and beltless everything, especially jeans, is not flattering, imo. No denying their comfort. I'll give them that. I am definitely curious about the coming end. Will it be a wedding, like the original AA? Multiple engagements? Bringston shutting down? (Yeah, right). There's gotta be the return of our pitching hero, si?

I could not believe how awful Simone was at the beginning of the ep. I don't like her, but this was truly horrible. Yes, it ended up being an anvil about her scary path to a diagnosis. I still think they went way too far. She didn't go to Amara for support and guidance about this??????! We have a Shay communication annnnd a mention! She really did have a baby, huh. I feel for Keisha, but as I recall, she was a marginal take to begin with for the dance class at Bringston. I'm not understanding why she instantly went to Cam and asked him for his help. What was that look on her face? Has she decided she's just going to accept that she is not gifted enough to make it as a dancer and she is simply gonna enjoy the heck out of the time she has left at Bringston? Yeah, I know. No way in Hades. Oh...since when don't acceptance notifications get sent digitally? The solution for J.R. is to support him risking death to play baseball? Whah? Gabby is great. She also lost a HUGE showdown with her potential hubby. Let's see if resentment does not creep in. I don't see how TPTB are gonna stick the landing at the end of the season, but I really hope they somehow do.