katha

I don't think Carrie Bradshaw was supposed to be a super sympathetic character, at least for most of the show. "Sex and the City" was always at its strongest when it delved into the delusions and false narratives Carrie (and the other women to some extent) told themselves. In the same vein, "Girls" was often an obnoxious mess. But I did like Dunham's idea of how people view themselves as the heroes of their own stories, versus the selfish/cruel way they actually behave. And how there's often no rhyme or reason, just random stuff happening. And I liked that the characters didn't stay friends for the most part, they'd been drifting away from each other for ages. Connected to that: Of course it stayed all about Hannah in the grand scheme of things, but I thought it was cool that she gave other characters a real place to shine. Driver is a great actor and she catered to that, but I thought some of his strongest work in the show was actually away from Hannah and his relationship with her. And Jessa and Adam seemed a logical progression tbh (is that also a UO?) and tied nicely into their character development (good and bad). Marnie was annoying, but got that very moving episode with Charlie. Shoshanna got the Japan arc. I guess I liked that "Girls" and Dunham didn't go full "Carrie Bradshaw in Paris", is what I'm saying. 😉 And I don't know if they intended that, but Rory from "Gilmore Girls" floundering personally and professionally always made perfect sense. A passive character like that who gets sheltered and smothered basically through her whole childhood, teenage years and into her early twenties...of course she's helpless the moment she has to fend for herself. So even though it wasn't pleasant to watch, I had no issue with her development.

Just watched Llewyn Davis, he was so great in that! I think the other stuff is just...usual career trajectory tbh. If you have a long career, there won't be only interesting films and smash hits. As for that breakout stuff: Outside of franchises and, I guess, DiCaprio and Pitt, it's difficult to be a leading man or leading lady nowadays. And even people like DiCaprio and Pitt worked for decades on their status and produced plenty of duds. Jennifer Lawrence seemed invincible there for a minute, now she's had her share of struggling films as well. No one is safe, LOL. But yeah, his roles have seemed "safer" after a great string of performancers. Sometimes stuff looks good on paper, then doesn't pan out.

Didn't know if to put this here or in the Unpopular Opinions thread, but I guess here works since it's mostly on the relationships on the show. Despite its problems/offensive nonsense, Lena Dunham did many interesting things in "Girls" IMO. Including capturing the myopic mindset of people in their early twenties who think they are cool and the world owes them. Because we're all the heroes/good guys in our own stories, but it might not look quite so hot from an objective point of view... And I think she captured that uncomfortable moment when realization sets in, both for the characters and the audience. Anyway, on the relationship front: I liked the awkward messiness of it. That couples sometimes genuinely loved each other, but that didn't always make it better. Ray/Shosh was doomed, and that seemed right. It also seemed right that they managed to stay friends, since they were both mostly way less awful than anyone else LOL. Marnie's relationships matched her self-involved control freak issues. And I liked how Hannah and Adam loved each other, but also in some ways stifled each other and used each other as security blankets when they were lost and unhappy. So it was IMO the right thing to do to end it for good, it had become too much of a fantasy/easy escape plan for them both. I also thought that Jessa and Adam were well suited, is that an UO? I don't know if it's something for the long-term, since they are both so erratic. But the characters seemed to become more open and expansive when around each other and that was cool. One of the series' best scenes is IMO in the fourth season, when Jessa and Adam are with Mimi-Rose and that pretentious ex-boyfriend of hers. The horrified way they both realize that they're dealing with genuinely cruel jerks who manipulate and hurt for the fun of it is something else. It also shows that they're both wannabe sociopaths at best, compared to the big leagues displayed there.

I mean, looking back at the thing, it seems more and more hilarious/awful that there was obviously no plan in place for the trilogy as a whole. Just...how does that work? And yap, in light of that, Abrams' worst tendencies as a film maker ("Hey! Looks cool! What do you mean, it has to make sense in the end?") could reaaaally fly in TROS. That movie was one giant "Here, cool concept! Look, bright shiny object!" seemingly without much thought put into coherent storytelling and character development. Pile on that their reluctance to make any decisions on anything, there you go. And it is a shame that a franchise with two pretty great films (TFA and TLJ) now petered out with such a subpar ending. It also means that it drags down the trilogy as a whole, unfortunately.

I'm on record as finding Kylo Ren/Ben Solo a fascinating character, I think Driver got the absolute most out of sometimes rather flimsy writing and I'm totally fine with the kiss. But yeah, the upset with parts of the shippers that there wasn't a fairy tale ending in canon for him is...strange. Idk what they expected. They got the best possible outcome for their ship they were going to get in-universe. Oh well. Though I have a feeling that some of the shippers also don't really take the canon literally? For them it's basically symbolism for, I don't know, estranged children reconciling with their parents, doing things like breaking off with family/drug use/general bad life decisions that don't involve mass murder and then transfer it to SW? Or the people who want to ponder the actual stakes a possible redemption in canon might include. And I am somewhat sympathetic, as I am always sympathetic, with them getting defensive when "purity policing" (good term!) comes in and tries to tell them they aren't allowed to like the stuff they like. And big parts of fandom have been screaming at them for five years now how stupid they are and how they are to blame for everything bad that happens in the world. On the other hand, shippers IMO need to just stay in their lane. But they never do. LOL, that's probably universal to all fandoms. You can't make everyone like the stuff you like. You're certainly not entitled to harrass right back, even if you think you've "earned it" because people have been mean to you. So yeah... It's basically another chapter in the endless saga of the toxic Star Wars fandom. And I'd agree and say that most "sides" have really contributed to it and made it a rather unpleasant place if you don't stay in your own corner. And that is sad. No wonder crew/actors are so wary of the whole thing. And IMO they ALL come across as really wary of the SW fandom. And that's not a nice reputation to have, but probably sadly deserved.

Yeah, I got carried away with my sweeping statements. 😁 IMO there are trends and countermovements in ice dance. Sometimes there are other qualities that win out with the judges and the champions carry that trend forward. But even if you had Bestemianova/Bukin sweeping everything with their speed and drama, there was always criticism that Klimova/Ponomarenko were the better skaters. Or with the Duchesnays, winning stuff when their technique was probably barely top-ten-worthy. But they came in at a certain moment in time and ushered in modern dance aesthetic into the sport, so that was reflected in the judging. But the arguments against them winning were the same: They don't actually have the skating goods to medal. D/W were very good skaters, probably not as good as V/M, but they ushered in a certain athleticism/COP-friendly program that became a trend during that time. Then P/C came in and floaty programs, deep edges became the new thing. In a funny way, sometimes this has been their undoing. I feel that V/M came back and the judges were actually more open to their outstanding technical abilities and skating skills. And when measuring P/C's competition, the logic is "how good are the edges, how clean are the elements, how effortless does it look". At Euros, IMO P/C couldn't quite live up to their own standard. The FD performance in particular was ragged and had a mistake, so the judges are going to react to that.

I'm gonna ramble a bit about my personal ice dance theory, sorry. 😁 IMO ice dance judges worship at the altar of skating skills. They have always done so. This is what is happening now with S/K. The Russian fed last season was all ready to promotoe S/B as number one, because they're good and consistent, because of his lineage, because of Tarasova's support. But the international judges clearly signalled in the GP that they rather see S/K as number one, so the Rus Fed was smart and got with the program. IMO S/K are the closest now to P/C in skating skills. They may not be quite as good, but they are very, very good. Everyone who reports on seeing them live does so stressing how smooth, fast and powerful they are across the ice and how good their bladework is. They've also improved tremendously in the last few years, it's impressive. While S/B, at the same time, have the narrative of "Stepanova can't skate" dodging them. They've improved as well, but still aren't as steady in that aspect, which also makes them more vulnerable in level calls (see this Euros as well). Judy Blumberg was the tech caller at Euros and she's ridiculously strict. S/K had very good levels, because they are capable of really executing difficult tech elements correctly. IMO their RDs in the last two years have also been stellar. The FDs play it safe because of Zhulin...they'd need to venture beyond him at some point to get more daring material there, I guess. That said, I think P/C lost this thing all on their lonesome. S/K were just the pair closest who could profit. The RD isn't quite up to par as usual, the FD is not everyone's cup of tea and they made a mistake. Apparently there was discussion because the tech panel (coughBlumbergcough) wanted to call the whole element void because of the mistake and they might have perhaps even ended up outside the podium had that happened LOL. I can just picture the panicked discussions with battle axe Blumberg and everyone begging her not to go through with it because they didn't want to lose their heads .😎 So yeah, they lost this here all on their own and would have won had they skated their best. They'll also win in Montreal, lol how could they not. And C/B will also come in, they have the best mix of skating skills, athletics and programs to also be a real challenger IMO.

Thing is: P/C have arguably weaker programs this season and that works against them to some degree. But IMO they'd have still won Euros no problem if they skated their best. Both RD and FD weren't stellar, and the FD in particular also had an obvious mistake. They are still the best ice dancers around, but I think at this point they aren't in a different league than S/K. So they can't really expect to always have a massive cushion against them no matter how they skate. IMO perhaps the pressure also got to them in this comp because they aren't used to dealing with actual competition anymore. I'd say the judging system actually worked as it's supposed to with this result.

Abrams said after TFA that Kylo Ren immediately regrets killing Han Solo. Which I thought was a very good character beat and very interesting regarding potential development. So, for all their differences, I think both Johnson and Abrams planned some sort of redemption arc. They probably had other ideas in how to get there. And yeah, Driver basically hinted that something in that direction was outlined to him from the moment he was signed. So, in the end, I don't think Kylo Ren/Ben Solo is the problem. I've said that already, but I think his arc makes perfect sense and is very well acted. TROS basically reaffirmed that he was manipulated/emotionally abused by Snoke/Palpatine since he was a kid. And his parents, because there was a war and because they wanted to protect him, perhaps made wrong parenting decisions. As all parents do, no matter how much you love your child, sometimes you get things wrong. But all of that doesn't negate his horrible choices. And I don't think the movies ever imply that. I also don't think that Kylo/Ben ever thinks that. At the end of the day, Kylo/Ben understands that Snoke/Palpatine were only using him and that he will never find peace on the dark side. And Han, Leia and Rey repeatedly go to bat for him and try to get him back...not because it's personally advantageous for them, but because they care. And I think that makes the difference for him. He's convinced himself that he's been abandoned/The Dark Side has told him that he's been abandoned, but he finally sees that this isn't the case. Han and Leia literally lay down their lives for him. He's been searching for peace of mind and he finally gets it at the end. And he knows that his awful choices can only end in death and isn't even that upset because he has peace now. This is pretty complex, but remarkably well done in the movies IMO. It's also a very all-encompassing take on forgiveness/redemption, saying that it isn't earned/deserved, but that making the choice to turn your back on evil is already the most important step. Which is consistent with what was done with Darth Vader. Not everyone will agree on that, but IMO it's pretty consistent with Star Wars lore. The fans of that character/shippers etc. probably respond to that and that's okay. It's a pretty gothic set-up and not all that unusual. They probably also get extra defensive because the usual misogynist "Stupid girls need to be told what they are allowed to like" brigade comes in and they are angry that people think they are so hare-brained they can't separate reality from fiction and advocate for mass murder because they like a fictional character. At the same time, lashing out in anger never helps and only leads to even more fan wars. The ones who are bitter that there wasn't a fairy tale ending IMO also are confused about genre. I do think that quite a bit of that wasn't fully realized in the writing, but something that Driver made work to ensure that his character's actions made sense. Particularly in TROS, he creates a whole character arc without words. So, as everything in that series, it's all a bit half-baked. But I really think that whole storyline held together very well. I also don't think that Kylo Ren/Ben Solo got all that much screentime, honestly. Probably less than Rey, Finn and Poe. What happened is that the material he got was more interesting than some of the stuff the other characters were saddled with. And I do think this is where the problem comes in: Rey got some writing that worked, and some aimless BS. Finn got some good stuff and then some flailing around where they didn't seem to know which direction they wanted to take with him. Poe's whole arc in TLJ was a total bust IMO and for me really damaged the character in the process. I just think the writing weaknesses throughout the trilogy really caught up with them and there's a feeling of frustration that there was more potential that wasn't realized. Most of TROS seemed like random characters spouting exposition. It was stupid.

The comparison is interesting. I purposely didn't put either Driver or Isaacs in the "breakout" category, because they already came with kudos from other projects and IMO weren't as dependent on SW for "making them". "Girls" put Driver on the radar and without SW he would have been able develop on that, probably slower, but still. He had already established his cooperation with Baumbach before SW. He did really well with what he was given in SW, however, so that helped and now he can use that as leverage for his career. And yeah, at this point he probably is glad to be done with it. I do think that Kylo/Ben works better is down to Driver being a much more experienced, better actor who can elevate clunky material. Because IMO he was given plenty of clunky nonsense, all the cast had to deal with that. OTOH, I don't think it was half as horrifying as what Christensen had to deal with. Like, Driver gets no lines as Ben Solo, so he has to make something out of nothing. But it's probably still better to make something out of nothing than having terrible stuff you have to sell. And it's really sad because Christensen was so young, he was tied for three films to this nonsense and it probably really unfairly established him as a joke without talent.

WH is a great comparison, actually. And I think that aspect was one of the few things in the new movie that worked (obviously it's controversial and people disagree, as everyone has been disagreeing about everyhing in these stupid space wizard movies for hundreds of years, apparently 😉 ). But the problem with certain sections of shippers has always been: They can't just stay in their corner, do their art and be happy with what they've got. They want to force it on everybody else and harrass actors, creators etc. for it. And yeah, it probably really is a confusion of genre for the ones who are most loudly outraged or refusing to see that they're mixing up genres. LOL, it's always the same. Harmonians, Spuffy, Johnlocks, whatever else... Why does a section of shippers inevitably go insane and ruin it for everyone else?

Honestly, all the passive aggressive backstabbing of the creators that has come out after TROS and the way they are trying to shift responsibility/blame? I REALLY, REALLY want to know how chaotic/messy it was behind the scenes. This really reeks of the last Hobbit movie. And yeah, it's the last part, so of course they're moving on. But the way Isaacs and Boyega have openly shown aggravation and everyone else in the cast basically quickly did their PR obligations and then disappeared? They're probably really, really tired of this mess at this point. The fandom is a menace (most of the fandom is totally fine, but the loudest ones are hellish) and TPTB don't seem that well organized. For all the messiness and issues, I liked the movies. But I fear that the longer it went on, it might not have been such a pleasant experience for the cast, so I'm sorry for that.

LOL, I wonder if many in the cast are secretly happy that they're "free" of Disney now, no matter how much it has done for their careers? There's not been much promo this time around and they all seem to have slunk off into their own corner and are probably ecstatic that they can get away from the batshit crazy stalker fandom... Also: Not everyone likes the things you like. Go into your own corner and don't bother other people about not liking the things you like. Fandom never gets that and then they're offended if there's clapback...

Ultimately, it might just be a case of confusing genres? Ben Solo not wanting to be Kylo Ren anymore might be a decent pitch for a gritty series about a dark grey alternative universe on HBO or Netflix. It might even be interesting. But it's not Star Wars. A family/kid movie that is mostly trying to sell as much seats/toys/Disneyland rides as possible.

Yeah.... And, people griping about Kylo/Ben not having choices. We saw that character make choices throughout the trilogy. I'd argue he was the one who was obviously and convincingly struggling with decisions throughout the films. That's what made him interesting. Often, they were terrible choices. Sometimes, they were good ones. Like, he's in agony when he decides to kill his father. And I like something that Abrams said, that Kylo immediately regrets killing Han. Because he thinks that at some point he'll just...snap...turn dark and be numb and not hurt anymore. But he keeps on struggling. He's wavering in TLJ (he can't go through with attacking a ship Leia is on, do I remember that right?), then he doubles down on evil. And Leia reaching out to him in TROS...he could have turned away from that as well. He showed in TFA that he's able to repel/murder his parents... And yeah, I liked that a mix of Han, Leia and Rey believing in Ben finally got through to him. Because, rightly or wrongly, he perceived himself as abandoned IMO and that just wasn't the case. So yeah. There's a lot half-baked nonsense in TROS, IMO almost nothing about Rylo/Ben belongs in that category. There's a reason most of the reviews praise that aspect (and Driver's performance), it's coherent and works.

The constant influx of big franchises made me think of how that works out for the actors there, particularly if they are young and get their big break on these movies. I've always thought Hayden Christensen got a raw deal. Yeah, his performance in the SW prequels was...not good. But he got ridiculously awful material that even much stronger/experienced actors would have probably struggled with. Portman was terrible in those movies as well, but she had stronger performances in other movies, so she wasn't as affected. And compare him with Orlando Bloom, who wasn't exactly setting the world on fire with his acting skills in LOTR, but for a moment there the industry wanted to make him happen. Then noticed that he doesn't have the skills/charisma to pull it off. Has anyone who didn't already have an established career take off after landing a Marvel role? I'm guessing one of the Chrises, if that? Jury's probably still out on Ridley and Boyega in the new Star Wars movies. They're appealing in those, now time will show if they can translate that to success outside the franchise. And gotta say, looking back at the original trilogy: It's kinda understandable that Hamill couldn't make the transition. IMO he's neither a good enough actor nor charismatic enough (like Ford).

OTOH, Han's death felt like one of the few times when the trilogy actually went for the bolder option and not for the easily reversable plastic stuff. And in consequence, IMO Kylo Ren/Ben Solo was one of the most interesting characters in all the Star Wars movies (yes, all nine). Exactly because he didn't follow all the stereotypical villain beats and stayed conflicted and wavering throughout. How much controversy and discussion in the fandom(s) circles around him also really confirms that IMO, both the passionate support (and I don't want to condescend to fans and say they are gullible and stupid for liking villain characters. Mostly, they see an interesting character, probably. And IMO this is mostly done to fandoms that have a high ratio of female members: "Oh, look at these silly girls, liking what is bad for them." You can like something in fiction and be able to separate that from reality.), and the antagonism towards him. And I looooved that the first time we saw a really confident version of that character, it was Ben Solo. Which was exactly right. Because Kylo Ren was hiding behind masks/being imprisoned by his own bad choices and forces manipulating him. And I liked that they went for the kiss (and agree that it was pretty daring/controversial in a Disney-set-up), because it just showed what might have been. If Kylo Ren/Ben Solo made different choices (you know, less mass murder...). So in that aspect it was perhaps a bit sad for the shippers, but whatever. And Ben knew that there was nothing more for him than sacrifice/death. He was surprised and ecstatic that he even got as much of a confirmation from Rey as the kiss. So I don't know why the shippers can't take their cues from his character. And now they can go and write three million fanfics where they can "fix" that ending. Again, I don't understand the fandom in that instance. Did they think he would skip into the sunset for his happily ever after? What?

Yeah, I think this is the ultimate downfall of TROS as a movie. It doesn't want to make decisions about anything for fear of offending various fan segments/agendas. As a result, no one is happy. I think this pandering and inconsequence makes it the weakest of the three movies by far. It had cool and nice things, but it could have been better if TPTB made clear decisions about anything (I think this goes beyond just Abrams, tbh). OTOH, considering the corporate pressures it probably faced (let's not kid ourselves, this movie is supposed to make as much money as possible, everything else it just superfluous nonsense), perhaps there was not really a way to make it any better. Or perhaps there might have been a way if there was a strong enough unifying concept laid out from the start. Since there wasn't, Abrams and Johnson...did stuff they wanted in the first two movies. And then the third had to clean up the mess. Idk, a stronger producer, stronger studio etc. might have prevented something like that? ETA: There's very revealing footage for the last Hobbit movie showing that Peter Jackson basically had no plan anymore and the whole set descended into chaos. It would probably be interesting to have a glimpse at what went on during the shooting of TROS, but I guess Disney has a tighter rein on things like that.

The moment Kylo killed Han in TFA, the only possible redemption for him would be death. I mean, I know this is not what fans/shippers want to hear, but in a conventional storytelling set-up, this is just how it goes. And at the end of the day, Star Wars is deeply conventional and follows rather simple hero/villain tropes. Nothing wrong with that, but that's just the reality of it. Having said that: I...still don't get fandom sometimes, I guess. Because Kylo Ren/Ben Solo? Duuuuude, he got as much of a happy ending as was possible. He's a mass murderer...had he lived, he'd have to face the consequences of that. There'd have been no happily ever after for him. I think Driver's performance was stellar, particularly how his whole phisicality as Ben showed that he'd thrown away the temper tantrums and fear of Kylo. The confidence/swagger and slight Han Solo reminders were awesome. Like, Ben died in peace, having helped Rey in her fight against Palpatine. And he died reassured of their connection and knowing that she accepted him, he died somewhat reconciled to his parents/their ghosts. That's as good as it was going to get. And Rey knows this. Which is why she is at peace with it, because she knows that this is the absolute best outcome for him. He died with that smile (again, all the kudos to Driver for that performance) on his face and at peace with himself. Then he vanished, so he's somehow connected with the force/his parents now? Rey's worst case scenario was always having to kill him, having him stay with the dark side. So...I don't get the griping with that aspect either? Everything else? Sure. That stuff? Made perfect sense IMO and Kylo's/Ben's arc was one of the strongest aspects of the trilogy IMO (no doubt elevated by Driver, who had to sell just as much nonsense as everybody else). I mean, yeah, it was an obvious rush job. Like everything in that movie was a rush job, but at least it made sense and was emotionally rewarding. You can't say that for various other elements of the trilogy.

I liked both TFA and TLJ. But it was pretty clear that they wanted to take things in different directions. And so the third movie always had a difficult job to do. Considering all that, TROS was probably as good as it was going to get. But yeah, the whole of it had an air of rushing through it, trying to reconcile all sorts of stuff, trying to keep different fan fractions happy to it. Much of it just seemed unfinished, or as if they thought about three hundred different possibilities and couldn't quite decide which one to choose. For example, IMO the Kylo Ren/Ben Solo stuff worked as a narrative throughout the three movies. His connection with Rey, his conflict and struggle, the stuff with Han (both in TFA and the mirror of that in TROS), it's sad that more couldn't be done with Leia, but that isn't the fimmakers' fault. That arc has a coherence to it that some of the other themes in the trilogy were lacking, you don't have to agree with any of the decisions that were made, but some sort of plan is recognizable. I mean, still...in TROS, Ben Solo didn't have any lines. Driver established a completely separate character from Kylo Ren out of nothing with only his physicality and facial expressions. So it was a total rush job and he barely had any material to work with, but managed to drag it over the finish line on the strength of his performance because at least the script didn't get in the way... And I think it seemed like that in a lot of instances. So much different stuff was thrown at Rey, Ridley managed to hold it together with her performance. But it didn't seem like there was always a clear idea where she needed to go as a character. Everything with Driver/Rylo/Ben worked, the camaraderie with Poe and Finn worked. But the waffling about concerning her identity never seemed to really go away. As if Palpatine was one of the 5000 ideas they had conceived and this is the one they went with because they ran out of time. Same with Finn and Poe. Many interesting ideas swarmed about them, but it seemed as if the movie just didn't have time to dwell on any of it and properly explore. And again, Boyega and Isaac elevated everything they were given. No one can fault that cast, they gave it their all. It just seems as if TPTB weren't quite sure what they wanted this trilogy to be. And yeah, the moment you have different directors for different installments, you need to enforce a clear vision and storyline continuity. For whatever reason, this broke down a bit. Still, I thought the movies were great on their own terms, even if the third one had to deal with the consequences of two disparate concepts and turned into a bit of a glorious mess in the process.

Just read "Slightly Dangerous" by Mary Balogh. It's the last in a series of historical romances focused on the Bedwyn family, a wild and fierce aristocratic family clan (of course, what else? 😉). The last part focuses on the imperious oldest brother Wulfric (I know...), the head of the family. The series was wildly uneven IMO. Wulfric was a super interesting character throughout the other novels and I was kinda dreading his installment, because oftentimes this happens in Romancelandia: Once interesting characters are the focus, they get flattened to make them more palatable as heroes. So I feared he'd either turn into a secret big ole softie with a heart of gold, or there'd be some reveal about his Tragic!Past! that would turn him into a misunderstood woobie. Miraculously, nothing of the sort happened. He stayed the imperious, rather chilly character he'd always been. He fell in love and opened up somewhat, but didn't have a personality transplant. He also wasn't fundamentally changed by Twue! Wuv! Yay for sensible writing! As for the heroine, at the beginning I was scared she'd turn into the sort of Disney heroine that sometimes pops up in romance novels: The hero gets to be flawed, difficult and complex while the heroine is hyper competent, the most generous, selfless, kindest person ever who never does anything wrong and never even thinks anything slightly questionable and is there to show the hero THE TRUE MEANING OF LOVE. I sometimes really think that authors get so scared of negative reactions to any perceived flaw in their heroines that they produce these cardboard cutouts in reaction. And Christine didn't start out well IMO. There was really heavy-handed effort by the text to signal she is a Spunky!Heroine! (tm). And it was so unnecessary, since it was perfectly obvious in the quieter moments that she's a warm and open character. She didn't need to roll down hills, climb trees and be incredibly clumsy (Bella Swann alert!) to prove that. It was just ridiculous and way too try-hard. But then a wonderful thing happened: She became just as stubborn and deluded and irritating as Wulfric and half the time I wanted both of them to step on a lego because they frustrated me so much. But I was riveted by their story. Because both of them were allowed to be flawed human beings who made mistakes and then learned from them. Funny how that works out, isn’t it? I also really liked that it started out with the classic "vivacious heroine thaws closed up hero", but then in the second half Wulf was actually the more self-aware character and he helped Christine deal with her low self-esteem, insecurities and exposed a malicious relative of hers who was gaslighting and manipulating her (really well written that part, the quiet destruction of her life that person's actions wrought). So it wasn't just the heroine having to do all the emotional work in the relationship. So yeah, I thought that was romance and opposites attract done really well by Balogh. Very pleasantly surprised.

Well, that played out in unfortunate ways....🥴 But I gotta say, this is the fault of TBTB and the show in how they set up this nonsense. I'm fine with all the five contestants and none of that is their fault. IMO these results also show that there's probably not that much voting going on...barring Hannah, everyone has landed in the bottom two at least once. And it's a pity that the outcome has marred a pretty solid night of dancing. I would also agree that James was (understandably) not at his best tonight...but the way to deal with that is say: All right, it's the semi-finals now, viewers decide we stop with the judges meddling in the outcome. Because what might happen now is this: Despite having the highest scores, it's entirely possible that Ally ends up in fourth anyway. And is that truly something they want? Dragging a contestant through the show even though she's not resonating with voters? Idk. Hannah's contemporary was the best dance of the night IMO. And she's absolutely right to say that the judges' critique of her has been weirdly unpleasant and personal. As if they somehow know her and judge her deficient as a human being. So yeah...I don't blame her for resenting that. Shades of Nastia Liukin, the way they treat her. Kel is most improved. And kudos to Witney for producing such a good dance to "I will always love you". That had the potential to be massive cringe, but wasn't. And IMO Lauren had her two strongest dances this week. She's not the most talented, but that paso was very interesting, if perhaps too busy.... massive improvement over week two. The VW was very nice and well danced, but the costume department decided to sabotage them with the atrocity Gleb had to wear. Not that Lauren's pink monstrosity was much better.... So yeah, the producers exerting so much control isn't always for the best. I thought Hannah was really hampered with music and costume for the rumba as well...again. Same thing happend with her first rumba...

Yay! Spicer is gone. 😎 He was the worst dancer left by some distance and IMO it's good for the show that he didn't make it into the semifinals/finals. I could live with any of the remaining contestants winning this thing, though obviously some are better than others. But they've all produced some good performances and have reached at least a decent level of dance competence. Can't be said about Spicer. It's my impression as well that they're overscoring Ally (in a bid to keep her on the show?), and I'm not sure something like that is actually helping with votes. The judges can't "save" her to a DWTS title, can they? I don't think James and Hannah have trouble with votes at all, which is why the judges are tougher on them. But it does start to look strange IMO, when the two of them are routinely better than Ally but don't get higher scores. Also, the tone towards Hannah has veered towards unpleasant at times IMO. And I really don't think it's necessary. She's too preppy/smiley, it's not a crime and it also doesn't warrant amateur psychoanalysis. Kel has been improving a lot and I really like to watch him now! 🙂 I think the partnership with Witney has also strengthened in the last few weeks, which is nice. And I actually thought both of Lauren's dances were nice. Not the most spectacular ever, but entertaining to watch. The jive last week had good choreo as well, though she did make mistakes. And her rumba was impressive because that dance has such high potential to be cringeworthy for candidates. But she was fluent and had good connection with Gleb. 🙂 Which...he will never be my fave pro, his style/aesthetic isn't for me. And he's been inconsistent this season, but also produced a few nice dances for Lauren. And in the last few weeks it also seems like he's been teaching her quite well. Getting a confident rumba with decent technique from a contestant isn't so easy, but Lauren was pretty solid. So...I guess if we're stuck with him, I want him to stop flailing around so much. Obviously he's capable of solid choreo/teaching, now do it all the time.

Yeah, this will keep happening now. Neither Kate nor Kamaro should have gone, but it will be difficult to get Spicer into that bottom two. I'm not sure it's impossible, but he'd probably need to be against people who get a lot of votes (James? Hannah? Lauren?) and get realistic scores. Because he is so much weaker than everybody else. And I was glad the judges finally didn't give him "Oh, you were there and breathing" pity scores, but at least somewhat appropriate ones compared to everyone else. They need to keep that going. I actually thought Kate's rumba had very nice choreo, the costumes and setting was nice, she had a lot of content and her footwork was good. But yeah, it's out of her comfort zone and she was tentative. Still, I think she's doing much better at latin now than at the beginning of the season (look at her cha cha) and it was a good effort. It's just the kind of dance that doesn't play to her strengths. I also think that Pasha is very smart in the way he just works to his strengths, teaches her and doesn't try to camouflage too much etc. In the hands of a lesser pro, rumba had the potential to be cringeworthy for Kate. But he didn't play it for laughs or concentrate too much on showmanship (always a temptation at Halloween), therefore making it possible for her to put in a solid effort. Not her best, but a good dance. This could have been a real trainwreck if done wrong. James was super awesome. And I take back what I said about Emma's choreography; the last two weeks she has been brilliant. Lauren's dance was actually really good too, I thought. Which leaves us with the Gleb conumdrum: If he's perfectly capable of producing decent dances like this week and last, why does he chose to go the sleazy and/or nonsense route so often? It's frustrating. Kel was really good as well, just hampered by the stupid set the producers gave him. You could barely see the two of them. I'm sad to see Karamo go, he wasn't the best technical dancer or anything, but he had fun being there and was entertaining to watch.

I agree that he's way overscored. But IMO the judges know that they are in a tight place here. If they get too mean and score him low, that'll just really fire up the grudge voters because they think he's a "victim" (LOL) and is being "bullied" by the evil show. So the plan is probably to say vaguely nice things to him, give him low (but not too low) scores and hope for the best. So as not to fire up the fanbase. But yeah, even with that, and even if it probably won't make a difference...his dancing is not worth a 7. If you're scared to give a 5, at least go down to 6. That's more realistic in how he stacks up against everyone else.