renatae

LOL, I forgot about that scene, and when this Carrie bit was brought up, all I could think of was Carrie from the horror movie. I still can't quite figure out her comparison between herself and these other people she brought up. Whatever. If in doubt about your identity, name drop, even if they are fictional characters. Just saw this - glad I'm not the only one! That was a seriously Twilight Zonish moment for me.

You could really see in Todd's eyes in that preview that he is so done with dealing with Joyce and with Kandi's NOT dealing with her. The suggestion that they spend every holiday separately is a big red flag. Unfortunately, Kandi is so indoctrinated into her mother's co-dependent mantra that I fear she will never see things as they are. Many people are saying she is getting what she deserves. The only problem is that she has never learned anything different. If she doesn't get some counseling, she will never get her head on straight and realize what a blood sucker Joyce is, and she will never have the skills she needs to learn to place boundaries where they belong. I feel sorry for her, and I'm afraid her marriage will soon be a casualty. There is something about people like Todd who seem to have infinite patience - once you finally manage to cross the line and exhaust it, they are done with you, and they don't come back. Sandra's death may temporarily ease that particular issue, but I really felt what Todd was saying was that he doesn't want to spend ANY holidays with Kandi's mom.

Every time someone refers to her as POTUS, I feel the fourth wall coming down. I just can't imagine anyone in real life would refer to the president as "POTUS," especially if they work for the government. It's a whole lot easier to just say "prez" and everyone would know to whom you are referring. Even President, with an extra syllable, seems to roll off the tongue far more easily.

She takes the cake! It sure was creepy hearing her referring to an aneurysm when that is what Sandra died from. And she is "helping" Kandi just how? Give me a break! I imagine everyone who has a rejected house to sell would feel blessed to have broken fixtures strewn around and absolutely nothing in any semblance of good repair. Go away, Joyce! Neither you nor your boyfriend have done anything even remotely helpful for Kandi. Buncha leeches.

I usually don't get all exercised over the wigs and makeup, and often I like things others don't, for instance, I never found Kim's wigs to be ugly. Now here is NeNe with these mop heads that do absolutely nothing for her, which get worse every week, and I can't believe it. Kandi's hair and makeup has been all over the board lately, one day cute and the next atrocious, and Cynthia's recent choices in clownish makeup and hair really have me going. That flathead look does no one any favors. I can't believe anyone who used to have a modicum of fashion sense has allowed the fringe element to make her look like Bozo on relief. On to actually important things, it really was creepy to see Apollo hanging all over Phaedra, although, if her past behavior is any indication, I really don't believe she was giving him the time of day at "home." However, he certainly gets creepier by the moment and looks like he's one inconvenience away from a total meltdown. I didn't realize he's been in prison since September. I do think it's good that Phaedra allows the children to talk to him. Bad or good, there's no evidence he's been abusive in any way towards them, and hopefully having contact with him will help and not hinder their development. Count me among those who are disgusted with Cynthia's shade throwing at Phaedra during that tense scene. She seems so totally into the "Hey, I'm significant and I have a voice" stuff this season that she's lost all sense of balance.

The mix?? Not as you described, "mix of brains, beauty, jocks and manipulation," with Jeff & Co. in control. We'd get the aforementioned boob-a-thon - like we get with few exceptions now. Have you noticed that even when the women aren't young nor particularly attractive, they are usually well-endowed anyway? Dream on. :wink:

I'm thinking they are indeed hinting that she shot her fiance with Nick's gun, either to protect him from capture or some other looming threat, or that he was the mole. Not liking any scenario where she is the mole. :) Fatah did look well groomed! Color me surprised that David threw Charleston under the bus, and that he was schmoozing with the media guy offering to give up the name of the CIA operative. I really was thinking he was in Charleston's corner, however I am having a hard time keeping all the plot threads together because one week must be too long for me to remember all the nuances in this, "Revenge," and whatever other thriller I'm watching. By the time they come back with "How to Get Away With Murder" and "Manhattan" I will probably be thinking Annalise killed her husband and Russia bombed Hiroshima, and have to watch all the prior episodes over again. Ugh.

Even my son, who hated her on The Amazing Race, was rooting for her to win. I don't think I've ever seen him change his mind about anyone before. I was hoping she would win, too, and we usually are not backing the same person. This is probably the first time.

Reed? Seriously? What a nasty piece of work! Wicked stepmother my rear! He did say some legitimate things. But that attack was way over the top, just as was what he said about Baylor. Blech.

Seriously? Kendra talks this out with friends and professional counselors, but it isn't until the most self indulgent man of all time talks to her that she has an epiphany? She acts like the Angel Gabriel came down and enlightened her, not some 88 year old lug who spent practically all of his life chasing skirts.

It seems to me the problems between Cynthia and NeNe did start with NeNe's criticism about Noelle having a boyfriend, which appeared to be one of those junior high things where they talk to one another on the phone a lot and not much more. NeNe should talk. Her 18 year had a baby out of wedlock and she was clueless until it was too late. Then Ms. "DontCallMeaBitchKim" decides it's OK to tell Peter he's acting like a bitch, on the one occasion he has a valid etiquette point. Whereupon, it's suddenly fine to call your friends bitch, and "we all do that to each other all the time and you never minded before." Right. She needs to tone down the screeching and the overreacting. She acted like a colossal boor at that benefit, and the attendees who came to support it did not deserve to be spoken to that way. NeNe has no business acting all butt hurt about the loss of the friendship. In spite of the fact Kenya spent way too much time baiting Phaedra's insecurities flirting around with Apollo, it appears she really was innocent. It's her own fault Phaedra doesn't want to cut her any slack, but I feel a bit bad for her that Phaedra wants to carry on as though Apollo was telling the truth. She just shouldn't have been waddling around like a duck and being shady yellow like a duck. My jaw dropped to the floor when I saw what a wreck Joyce made out of that house! I half suspect she told her boyfriend to tear it up so she'd have an excuse to get Kandi to pay for another one. Or that she destroyed it out of spite because it was too far away for her taste. I feel that Kandi has made a horrible mistake moving her mother so close to her. Poor Todd; he must feel smothered. Kandi needs to at least give him some distance from her mom, especially since she refuses to put her mouth in check. I fear Kandi will never wake up and smell the rotten coffee beans. It's so sad that Todd lost his lovely mom, especially as he could have used her support since Kandi is clueless. Yes, Kandi, you need to figure out when enough is enough and react accordingly. You don't have to disown your mom, but you do need to tell her she needs to check her acid tongue at the door.

I can relate, LOL. In my specialty, after a few months of school, we knew just enough to be dangerous, but not enough to make smart decisions. The things we conjured up in one situation, due to lack of full knowledge and panic, were just completely ridiculous, though we didn't know it at the time. Looking back, I can't do anything but laugh at how naive and dumb we were. They are basically just kids with what, two months of law school? I think the premise of the show, that they are so bright and are ready to "assist" Annalise in any way except just being gophers, adds to the impression that they should have expertise, knowledge, and wisdom that in reality, they are really in no position to have yet. After all, this is Shondaland, the world of the alternate reality.

Oh, me, too! He's a real creep. And Oppie is not far behind. Supposedly, he's the backbone of the piece; however, he seems to spend most of his time dining on white linen, attended to by servants, while all the others eat dust cooked on hot plates and bust their rears trying to get the job done. Not really! I have always liked Charlie, even in his worst moments. I think I feel the same about him as I do about Don on Mad Men; "I hate myself for loving you!" So much of their behavior is indefensible, but I can't help but like them anyway. Flawed, but somewhere inside is a rather decent core, even though they don't often live up to it. No, I'm not writing the screenplay about my parents. :) But it is a cool love story! The race to produce penicillin in sufficient amounts rather paralleled the race to produce sufficient plutonium.

I've actually been wondering if the reason the guy had the bag over his head was because it *wasn't* Frank, but that we are supposed to believe it was. However, I can't say who it would have been, if not him. Since Frank only confessed and alluded to violating compartmentalization, it made me wonder first, if they wouldn't have just kept him on for the sake of the project, and secondarily, as you noted, this seemed far too extreme of a "removal" for what Frank confessed to. I also wonder why Occam was still looking for spies after Lancefield was framed. Charlie and Abby, when it gets down to the nitty gritty, revealed that despite the past, they still care about each other first and foremost. I loved the way she touched his face when she realized the danger, and how he wanted her to seek a divorce for her protection. I've really felt Charlie was a pretty good sort. Nope, not perfect, and sometimes you want to smack him upside the head, but overall an earnest person trying to do the right thing - until Lancefield. That was very low of him, even though Lancefield posed such a threat. She certainly was acting rabbity. She never seemed concerned one way or another for Charlie and now she seems OTT. I don't really think the one night stand in and of itself would cause such a shift in her behavior. I didn't feel that her desire to remain unattached was due solely to the fact she didn't want much of a relationship with Paul Crosley. I'm not sure of the timeline, but I got the impression that Charlie was arrested the day after they were together, or at least very soon afterward. I'm not sure what connection you're making between abortion and penicillin, but I'm curious. :) Penicillin was discovered in the 20's and the first widespread use was for war injuries during WWII. They would give a course of daily injections for about six months. That's how my mom met my dad. He was a paratrooper wounded during the Battle of the Bulge and my mom was his "penicillin nurse" stateside.

I also figured the gun would be used - I just figured Akley was going to use it on first, Charlie, and then Frank. When Abby went to Elodie's, it appeared she had every intention of ignoring Charlie's request. She only changed her mind after seeing the children. At that point, she could have decided to divorce him, and left without planting the papers. I understand she felt pressured and I understand that he should never have asked her to do what he did. However, she was already not feeling much connection to him, and, secondarily, "The devil made me do it" is not an excuse for betraying a friend in such a horrible manner. "She is aware that she allowed herself to become Charlie's pawn." Exactly. She allowed herself. For his part, Charlie relented and apologized for asking her, and begged her forgiveness, albeit too late. Abby, on the other hand, decided to do the deed and then place all the blame at his feet. (Not that I am excusing him in any way. But we are all responsible, ultimately, for our own actions.) I get what she was going through while wandering through Elodie's apartment, only to run into someone just like her former self as a "replacement" tenant for Elodie. But, to slap the poor girl? "Wake up!" would have sufficed.

No, I don't think it was her motive. It seemed more self protection and to be able to keep contact with her child.

Color me blown away by the fact that Akley, well, blew himself away. Actually, I was finding all that desperation difficult to believe. Who in their right mind would blame a scientist for the way physics work? I get that he was promoting and backing a loser that he believed in, but how much humiliation should be cast on someone for holding an erroneous idea in a new field? Likewise, whoever called the collaboration an act of sabotage was being OTT. I forget if it was Ackely or Colonel "Duck," but I think that was Ackley as well. (Thanks, Whipporee, for "Colonel Duck." I had not realized it was Duck, although I knew I knew him!) Wasn't Glen reassigned over the suspicion that he was in cahoots with his gay scientist friend who went to the other side? I'm terrible at remembering important details like this. Abby sure went off the rails. She's blaming everyone for her actions. I think Charlie hooked up with Helen because of all the rejection Abby has been giving him, as he stated, for about six months, predating the betrayal. Still disappointed, but not surprised, by the hook up.

I've been waiting for her to use her oft-repeated plea to "go work for daddy." With the secrets, I can't figure out how she can be so dense, much less feel so singled out, since in the first episode, it was established to her and to us that none of the wives have a clue. Of course, except for Mrs. Ackley, we learn. Between her and the "no Ingles" maid, I haven't decided which yet. Frank goes into excruciating detail with his supposedly non English speaking paramour.

Still not sure what to make of that scene. Charlie began apologizing to Abby, saying he should never have involved her and should have listened to his conscience. On the one hand, I felt it meant he was taking back what he asked her to do, but looking at it another way, "I should never have involved you" implies that she consented. Apparently she took the papers with her to give her an excuse to go to Elodie's. She had no intention of planting them until she realized what she would be giving up if she ran off with Elodie. I don't know why she couldn't have decided just to leave. Perhaps she understood that she and Charlie were really in danger from Mr. Elodie. I think that she must have planted them, since she was not at all surprised when the MPs showed up.

I don't really think Abby/Elodie is who Abby "really is." I feel that the relationship is a way in which Abby is reacting to learning a lock-step sort of life is not the only possibility. I do agree that there is an inner conflict between who Abby always thought she was and who she really is, but I don't think Elodie is the answer; she is just the conduit to Abby seeing beyond expected patterns of life. I think that for Elodie, Abby was just convenient. Elodie presented an obvious and cliched way of escape for Abby from a marriage she is seriously doubting, but, yes, she came to realize what she would be losing if she pursued the unrealistic "let's run off somewhere and live like beach bums" scenario. Hopefully, she and Charlie will come to regret their horrible betrayal of Elodie and her stinker of a husband, and in the meanwhile, learn to genuinely relate to each other, even though it's much more likely they will come to hate themselves and each other. I do have to say I enjoyed Charlie coming out as the Neanderthal against Elodie's husband after all his boorish and threatening behavior, but I wish he had left it at that. That would be vastly rewarding!

So very sorry to learn of what happened to your home town. I don't think I can quite imagine how that would feel! I felt that, besides fearing Ackley's reaction, Charlie decided to go to Frank because of Frank's real intensity and genuine obsession with getting the job done and getting it done right. I'm not sure about the answers to your questions because I'm in the same boat.

I so agree about Helen's character! Also, the French girl, I forget her name. I know the Europeans pride themselves on not being "repressed," but, really, aside from some notorious people, I really believe the predominance of Christianity of the time made people much more circumspect than the writers of today ever acknowledge.

I have to say I find this whole portrayal of the sexual liaisons pretty unbelievable. Sure, people have always had sex outside of marriage, but the 40's were a pretty puritanical time. That a whole group of uniformed women would be engaging in casual sex, much less charge for it, just seems completely unbelievable to me. My mom was a nurse WAC at the time, and she would have been completely shocked by any such behavior, and I believe she was representative of her time. Shoot, I'd have been shocked during the 60's or even 70's by such a thing. I remember my mom telling me about a man and a classmate of hers which was an eye opener for her. She only knew of the circumstance because she was standing at the curb when his car went by and she saw her classmate crouched on the floor of the car, hiding. So, she learned things were not always as they seemed, but they were definitely covered up if they weren't "kosher."

Adding to the snark about the Black Plague organism, say that it was a retrovirus and did die out in the 16th century, how would they know what it looked like? =8/

"Tailgate party?" Talk about anachronism!