WearyTraveler

I have a picture in my head of Joffrey putting the white cloak on The Hound, but I don't know if that is in the book, on the show or just in my head! LOL!

Great episode! The presence of blood and Taylor's condition in those pictures make me think that at some point he changed his mind and in fact withdrew consent, as much as he was capable in his state. Leslie was despicable, I agree, but I think all her previous interactions have been leading up to this. She's always looking out for how things look from a PR perspective. She's never been really interested in the welfare of the children who attend the school; her priority is the school itself and its reputation. The coach strikes me as an idealist, perhaps even naïve guy. He wants to believe his players do no wrong but he's definitely out of touch with what the kids do. I think he's looking at the team through rose colored glasses. Top notch acting all around.

MGH is a great actress! I like this show. Was sorry to see in TVline that a renewal could go either way. The characters here mostly act like adults, not overgrown high school kids. So refreshing! I'm afraid for Malaya. We didn't see her after the break room scene, did we? Has the stalker guy got her someplace? Stalker guy was creepy. I think he took blood thinners on purpose, so he could go back to the hospital. Also, the fact that he's a good looking guy makes him creepier still. Next week looks good!

I liked the challenge and I agreed with the judges' choices for top and bottom (and winner / elimination). That said I was disappointed in all the artists because although they did give some thought to some of the sounds of the language, there was barely any discussion about the shape of the mouth to produce that language, all of it. They didn't even try to sound it themselves to see what shape their lips made. While Mel and Katie thought about the breathing and put in that pump (sorry, forgot the technical term they used for it) under the neck, they totally missed the fact that with those two canines it would be impossible for the person to pronounce some of the sounds (as the guest judge pointed out). It was a great make-up, and the paint job was awesome, particularly the top of the head, but it failed a basic premise of the challenge, which is why I think it didn't win. Anna and Yvonne were lucky that those awful teeth didn't fit their model, because I think that they would have gotten dinged for them. From what little I heard of the language, it would have been impossible for their model to make the appropriate sounds with that mouthful of crooked teeth in there. The guest judge actually complimented them in not messing around with the mouth too much because that way the model wasn't impaired to make all the necessary sounds. The makeup was good, though, and that cowl was really well done. I think most of the artists went with a whole visual of a character when hearing the words (he sounds angry, barking orders, praying, big and scary, etc.) instead of trying to figure out the anatomy of the mouth, teeth, tongue movement and breathing that would be required in order to actually make those sounds. Robert and his partner (whose name escapes me because he's a downer) heard clicking, so they went with a beak, but they completely ignored everything else in the language. They all should have tried to repeat the sounds they heard, maybe that way they would have realized some of the things the guest judge said about the anatomical requirements to make those sounds. All of that said, I think this group is talented. Some of the choices they made were great. And most of the execution was on point. A bit of trivia about the guest judge: he was also a guest of The Daily Show a few weeks back, promoting a book he wrote about, you guessed it, how to create a language. He was entertaining there. Very interesting stuff,

I liked this episode a lot. I think it was great that they had the characters make the connections some of us in the audience have already made and that they reminded us of all the events that are important thus far. It felt like things were finally moving along. I don't want all the mysteries revealed, but I don't like when characters are always in the dark. I like that they now have connected all the dots and look forward to them figuring things out along with us. That makes it more entertaining, somehow. Like we are in the same boat the characters are. It helps me connect with the people I'm watching on my screen.

Not to mention the huge gap between the issues for each school principal. Here's Felicty's character trying to decide what theater is good enough for her event while the other principal is trying to mediate a dispute as to when to have breakfast, which if not resolved, from what I understood, could mean they would lose their ability to even provide that meal to their students. I think it's interesting that we get to see these differences, but I do agree that the plot seems disconnected from the main arc, namely the alleged sexual assault on Taylor.

The article didn't accuse Kevin or even said he was under investigation. The article said the party took place at Kevin's house and that Kevin was one of the captains of the basketball team. People on social media were jumping to conclusions that Kevin was part of the assault, but that's not what the article said. It wasn't clear if the article mentioned Kevin's age, that I recall. They only said the reporter printed Kevin's name because he is 18. So, the place the party took place is easy to confirm by talking to neighbors, you can't claim privacy when you have a loud party in your house that at the very least your next door neighbors heard and saw happening. The fact that Kevin is captain is no secret. The team has probably been featured in the school newspaper, and the local newspaper. We know the journalist didn't make any claims as to the certainty of the events because Taylor's mother was upset and complained. So, again, I'm not seeing a problem here. The only person who revealed facts from the investigation was the cop in Terri's house, and even he didn't reveal much. What he said about the case was not stuff that what was printed. It was additional information.

Which is why I said "But, that's me" because I understand that the sentence that preceded that statement is my reading of their reactions and, as such, it might not be accurate.

I've also found that I'm having trouble with some of the actors' enunciation. Miller, Holden, Amos, they all almost mumble some of their lines. I think this series is OK, but I will admit I'm having trouble connecting with the characters. I think I might give the books a try and see if that helps me get into the show more. With Game of Thrones I saw the first season first and found it so compelling, I just had to read the books. With this one I can see that it's a complex, layered world, but it's still not really grabbing me. I commend these writers for trying, adapting long written works into film/TV is not easy and it won't be perfect. GoT generally does a good job, but they have also had big fails. I don't know what it is for me. Maybe it's the pacing, we start getting to know our characters and they are suddenly dumped into this massive, sinister secret plot and now everything they do before they get the answers just feels like padding. I wish we had spent more time on set up without the intrigue. I mean, let's be honest here, there are only two possibilities for the big bad that make any sense, once you rule out that it wasn't the Martians, the Earthers or OPA: It's either a fourth race bent upon conquering this part of the galaxy or some entity that benefits from a war (such as a business, that's what happens in the real world, even the show Sherlock had that as a case this week). I could be wrong, I don't know, because I didn't even know these books existed until this show aired, but I really can't think of any other options that would fit this universe they have presented us. Maybe if they had spent more time ruling out the Martians, the Earthers and OPA, we could have had some more characters moments. They are so few, as it is. We went really fast from a ship in space to people trying to kill everyone and starting a war, and now it feels like we have come to a screeching halt on that front and are taking side roads to get to our destination. I definitely don't hate it, but I wish I'd love it more.

I think, but I'm not sure, that the place (address) where the alleged assault took place would be on public record. Or at least the fact that it happened during a party thrown by the team captains. From there to figuring out which captain is easy (the rich one is your best bet, but you can always confirm by asking the neighbors, for example if they remember a party going on that day. Knowing this, the name of the captain is public record, and since he is 18, which is probably public record too (yearbook) then the journalist can print all of those details. I don't see a problem with this. Even if it's not on the police record, the way I think it works is that a journalist gets a story and he/she sets about to confirming the details. In this case, that's what the journalist did by talking to the principal, it is inferred she also talked to the police, I'm sure we weren't shown her confirming which captain and which house because that would not be necessary, since we already know all of that.

I think it's because a lot of people didn't like his comments when he lost to Stephanie in his original season. I didn't mind them, and I didn't think he was putting Stephanie down. She is a great chef, but Richard was clearly the front runner of that season, I thought he was going to win, and I don't even try the food. When he said he choked and that it was his fault he didn't win, I agreed with him. And this doesn't mean that I think Stephanie is not a great chef. I've found that after that many people just take everything he says / does way too much to heart and assign it more meaning than it has. But, that's me.

I thought they had established that Taylor was the basketball team's water boy/ball boy and that's why he was at the game, but I might be remembering wrong.

The first ceviche I ever ate was in a fancy restaurant in Lima, Peru, a country I visited 2 times after that. I also had the good fortune of not only getting to know Lima, but also the region of Cuzco and Macchu Picchu. Needless to say, I had many ceviches, papas a la huancaina, chupes, ají de gallina, anticuchos, and many other, delicious Peruvian food while I was there. Never, not once, did I ever have a ceviche with sweet potato puree. Man bun is definitely tripping. Or trying to improve a dish that needs no improvement at all. The sweet potato in a Peruvian ceviche is served diced (big or small chunks) and you eat it like another piece of fish/seafood. A puree would absorb all the good juices of the ceviche, not to mention that an American sweet potato (which I've aso had) is very different from a Latin American sweet potato in texture, and in flavor (the American one being sweeter and more mushy). If Man Bun is such a great chef, he would have known that. Also, his dish was missing one the staples of any Peruvian ceviche: corn. Peruvian corn is more starchy and less sweet than American corn, and each kernel is a lot larger (the size of a thumbnail, more or less). They serve it with the ceviche on the cob (cut into smaller pieces) or they sprinkle whole kernels throughout. And they also serve the corn as cancha, a preparation that takes dry kernels and toasts them; they taste like those half popped kernels you get in your popcorn, and they add crunch to a dish that is mainly mushy. Either Man Bun forgot how to make this recipe or the grandmother played a trick on him.

I might have agreed with you if we had seen Michael questioning Kevin the same way when they thought the alleged victim was a girl. But he didn't. He kept calm through the whole thing from the moment Terri called him to tell him about the article to the conversation with the detective in their living room. The moment the cop mentioned the victim was a male, Michael exploded. Where was the outrage when they thought it was a girl making accusations?

Yeah, but she was also the one that insisted on all yellow, and did the weird cowl that didn't close in the front (which Glen wondered about, as there was no reason to have that be an open cowl). She might be more talented than the other guy in her team, we just haven't seen enough from either to say for certain, but the failures of that make-up were all on her.

Good job, Holmbo! Oh, Tyrion, Tyrion, Tyrion! First, we probably saved a few dozens lives by keeping Joffrey away from wildfire and the next second he's goes on to state how happy he is that he's not a peasant...

I thought they did reveal who did it, at the end, when the junkie whispered into his sister's ear and she made that revealing face. But maybe not everyone got the same message I did. In any case, I think the ambiguity of the information we know so far is intentional, probably to make us question the stance of the players in the events to come. Was the boy attracted to the basketball player? is he gay or bisexual? does it matter? was he really raped (consent will be the key here)? I think it's intended because that's exactly how it goes in real life. Unless we witness a crime, we never know exactly what happened. Only those who were involved or witnessed it know the truth. I also think that we are seeing the other school because: a) it provides a contrast to show how things are between the two schools (one privileged, one not so much) b) it will play a part in the events to come (I remember at the beginning of last season I was frustrated by the focus on the drug addicts and they turned out to play a major role later - although I still think the early focus was not executed very well, what with all the cheesy "greatest love of all" crap they gave us) I liked last season, despite its dark, depressing feel, but I'm liking this season even more.

Well, in this case they were told to use the ships as inspiration for the characters, so, I can see why they'd want that inspiration to be reflected in the anatomy of the characters.

I see what you're saying, and still think it's too soon to call racism with only one episode. If a show has POC portraying good and evil characters and white people doing the same, I don't think it's racist. Also, I think it's a well-known fact that actors usually find the "bad" guys more interesting to play, and actually seek for these roles often (Charlize Theron playing a serial killer, for example). Maybe the black guy here actually beat a bunch of other white actors to get the part, maybe he was the most qualified. We simply don't know. This show has some issues, I'd agree. But I'm not ready to call it racist just yet.

I'm Latina, and as a woman and what the US people consider POC, I feel compelled to ask (without intending to inflame anyone or cause trouble, I'm seriously wondering about this): If we are all equal, why does it matter who is a bad guy or a good guy? Wouldn't it be equally unbalanced to have POC only be good guys? I honestly didn't even notice that until you guys pointed it out. I guess I just look at the story and the quality of the performances, I really don't care what color/gender the people are.

Hello all! I'm an animal lover (dogs topping the list), TV addict (as my membership here surely shows) and book junkie (by age 12 I had already read 1,000 books). A while back I wrote a short story (non fiction) about my dog that sort of combined these three passions of mine. My friends and family encouraged me to publish, so, I did. My little story is now available on Amazon and will be promoted free of charge for 5 days starting on Monday, January 16th. Since you are on this forum and this thread, I deduct we have at least two things in common, and maybe, you'd like to read my first foray in the writing arts. Since it will be available for free, I think it's ok to post it here, but, mods, please forgive me and delete the post if it's not. Here's the link to my little story on Amazon. Any feedback you guys have is welcomed! http://www.amazon.com/Pumba-wild-boar-Lion-King-ebook/dp/B01AORIA9Q/ref=sr_1_1?s=digital-text&ie=UTF8&qid=1452975257&sr=1-1&keywords=Pumba

I'm not impatient, but I am disappointed. I think it's fair for readers to want to read the ending intended by the author. We obviously like this story (some aspects better than others for each of us) and we like his ideas, otherwise, we wouldn't read what he writes. I think part of the frustration, for me, is that he says he wants to finish it, he says he cares about this story, he says he wants to give us his ending, he says he wants to finish before the TV show is done, but everything he does runs counter to any of those objectives (except his statement a while back that he was going to focus on writing and avoid other events to do so). What he does is: write other stories, attend events, write for the TV show, and other stuff. Now, don't get me wrong, he's free to do whatever he wants, but there's definitely a disconnect between his stated intentions and his actions. If he really does want us to read his ending and if he really does want to finish, there are many things he can try to achieve those objectives, such as having a shadow writer, let others help, and many more, I'm sure. But he also refuses to do any of that, and then it's just apologies to fans and being upset because people ask him when he thinks he is going to finish. If it's all so painful for him to do, then he should just say "you know what? I really don't feel like writing the end of this thing. It bores me now". Then he could add "my my planned ending is ........" or "I'll let the TV show finish the story and work alongside D&D to ensure the conclusion is one that reflects my planned ending" or "I'll hire so and so to finish the story according to my vision". And then he can move on, stress free, to continue doing whatever tickles his fancy the most. I think as readers we sort of make a tacit contract with a writer: you write and I pay you money to read but I expect a full story, not for you to stop in the middle and never give me a conclusion. There's no time limit attached, off course, but GRRM himself sets the expectations, so, here we are.

Given the amount of sexual assault cases in the US that involve college / high school sports teams, I think this is not based on a single case, but it's more meant to reflect a dangerous side to the culture of basically worshipping players and letting them get away with anything.

I'm thinking of trying the Shannara trilogy to tide me over until WoW is published (at this rate, though, I may just end up reading an entire fantasy library before that. LOL). Any of you fantasy readers have an opinion on those books? MTV (of all people) is doing a series with Jon Favreau as Executive Producer, which I found out when I saw an interview with him on a late night talk show. I saw the first four episodes and it's not bad. A little young skewing, but ok for mindless entertainment. So, I was wondering if the books were any good. Thoughts?

I must admit this is one the few plotlines that actually took me completely by surprise. I was suspicious of Dontos but never guessed LF was behind it all. He probably told Dontos exactly what song to use in order to manipulate her and convince her to trust him. He truly is an evil, evil man, isn't he? I also have to say that one of the things that frustrates me the most about Sansa is that after everything that's already happened to her, she continues to fall for the whole knights and ladies bullshit. In my country we have a saying that goes "no hay peor ciego que el que no quiere ver", which translates to: "there's no worse blind man than the one who doesn't want to see". Sansa always reminds me of that saying and I'm not sure by the end of Dance or even in her leaked WoW chapter she is completely able to "see".