loki567

I kind of enjoyed the season. I said it before, I don't mind watching a season where I don't have a favorite, provided there's some interesting gameplay. I think this season fulfilled that requirement for the most part. I'll definitely give the edits some credit for not going full Mike Holloway with Ben and keeping things reasonably balanced, although they did start to telegraph it at the end there with how much gloating was going on with Chrissy/Ryan/Mike/Devon. But yeah, the HIs popping out like skittles and the new twist was completely bullshit. Didn't help that Ben got very tooly at the end. It's a shame because a F3 between Chrissy and Devon would have been an extremely interesting result, gameplay vs. likability.

That's a good idea to keep things reasonably suspenseful in the case of a tie.

I think it's been said in interviews before, a tie just means the third placer casts a vote at FTC. If so, that's a good sign for a Chrissy win. I imagine Ryan's guaranteed F3 and unlikely to get any votes. So if he's the deciding factor, I think it's good odds that Ryan would pick Chrissy.

Kinda obvious. Fabio's winning margin was two quitters. Even if Brenda or Alina said it was just a couple pity votes, I think there was some clear pro-Chase feelings on the jury and not having NaOnka/Kelly's voices involved in the process could have made a huge difference. Also consider if they stuck around, that means Fabio would have to win five straight immunities, instead of three. Then you consider Fabio never really had a clue what the dynamics were and stuck with his "deal," with Chase even with Sash advising him against it which lead to the 5-4 vote, worst winner ever gameplay-wise, IMO. At least Bob knew he was screwed and actively work hard to do something to change it. It's beside the point, but Fabio had a fantastic "Oh shit," reaction when the votes were read. Everybody told him he had it in the bag and he was shocked that the vote was that close.

It's funny but I actually go the other way with Mike that his edit is actually generous based off the gameplay we're seeing. For example, him burning his HI was stupid and it was briefly acknowledged as such, but Mike gets the last word on the subject, claiming it was necessary to "shake things up." I feel like the editors have never gone all in on making Mike look as stupid as they could when it comes to gameplay, which suggests to me that he does better than expected at F3. I'm not thinking that Mike will win but I think he could end up as the second placer with some votes from Joe and his fellow healers. I'd probably guess Chrissy as our winner at this point. This is a reasonably balanced edit and I think they would have gone full Mike Holloway if Ben had won.

I'm seeing a lot of good points for why Carl's death might have been a decision handed down by AMC. I'm actually sympathetic to Gimple from the perspective of there's probably never been such a financially successful television show that's been completely creatively hamstrung by its network this much. Hell, HBO gives the GoT producers way more leeway than this.

I could totally see Chrissy and Ryan being the types to overthink, let Ben slip past this vote, and target Ashley/Devon. I feel like Chrissy's, "I'll get Ben if it's the last thing I do!" has to pay off somehow. Either by tainting the jury against him or winning the final immunity that takes him out.

Big props to the editor that late in the game, I really can't state with any confidence who the winner's going to be. Considering that this was a fairly bland cast, the editors did a good job in presenting their story.

I still maintain that it seems like the show is positioning Scarlett as a replacement lead. Personally, I've never minded Kelly Overton, but it's a bad sign that in about three episodes it feels like we've gotten more character development out of Scarlett than Vanessa. Feels like the writers realize they botch Vanessa's character and now are trying for a do-over.

Wow. This season's been dynamite. Impressive for a show fairly late into its run to have a big jump in quality. No storylines that dragged the season down so far. I mean Lee as a crimelord is fundamentally ridiculous but at least in a Gotham-sense where I can sort of roll with it. And it gives Lee something to do other than just existing to be a headache for Gordon. Big props to Crystal Reed who's been a strong addition. Her verbally tearing Jim apart was a great scene. I am a bit worried about Donal Logue and his role going forward. The situation with his daughter must have taken a lot out of him. Ratings being what they are and thechance that this is the last season, I'm wonder if Harvey will make it back in time and Jim/Gordon's relationship can get some closure. Only complaint is that new Poison Ivy tease. Looks like they're going to finally go forward with that Bruce/Ivy, teen flirting with a teen-in-an-adult's body story. The idea still reminds creepy. And now I feel bad for Maggie Geha. She never had a real shot to settle into the character. Fan reaction stopped the Poison Ivy seductress plot dead and the writers seem to have no clue what to do with her after that. And they recast her with an OLDER actress which... I don't get it.

I'm starting to imagine a crazy ass universe where Dr. Mike wins this thing because the jury hates Ben. Seriously. The edit is surprisingly kind to Dr. Mike and tries to make his moves look like understandable strategy, instead of spastic flailing. Ben might be a dick but I find him way more interesting as a character than the role he was originally cast as i.e. loyal soldier guy. I always appreciate balls to the wall gameplay instead of paralyzed indecision.

I almost wonder if there's something up with Kelly Overton's contract because Scarlett feels like one of those instances when the writers are trying to replace a major character. She's a Van Helsing, she's part of the same experiments as Vanessa, she has ninja skills, and now she has a flirtation with Axel. Basically seems like Missy Peregrym could be the lead without that much trouble. Speaking of Axel, the show is so much better off with the non-vampire version of him being front and center. VH desperately needs a sense of humor and he gives it one.

That's a good point about Patrick. Definitely seems like the type who spoil trying to make himself look smart. I've been leaning towards Ben but you have to figure that the producers would love a Ben win. Something about this season's edit that you can just feel they don't particularly like the winner. This season have been very balanced towards everybody and usually that's a tip-off that means the producer's favorite didn't pull it out.

Yeah, this was fun. I can occasionally enjoy a season where I don't particularly like anybody or have a rooting interest, provided that the gameplay is engaging. I enjoyed Gen X vs. Ms for that reason. I'm guessing a Ben win. I think this was the moment to get him out and now it's too late. He'll use his HI and scrap out a couple late wins to get himself to FTC. And I'm okay with that. I appreciate that his edit is reasonably toned down and other players have gotten a chance to shine at various points of the game.

I'll give Ben some credit for what I thought was a really good episode for him strategy-wise. One thing I've noticed about Big Brother or Survivor seasons where a single player dominates, there's usually a loud overbearing outsider who functions as a hate sink. Somebody so obnoxious that even when they're giving logical strategy advice to the other players, everybody ignores it because fuck that guy. That's clearly Joe. And even though there was some disagreement between the majority alliance, that was only because they hated Joe that much. As long as he's around, it guarantees the alliance doesn't start to turn on Ben until they're able to get rid of Joe. The fact that Ben pointed that out, showed some next level thinking from him and that he's got more going on than just being soldier guy. Also a good move for Ben was picking the absolute right time to stick a dagger between the Ryan/Devon relationship. Between that and his ties to Lauren, Ben seems set up pretty well when the alliance finally breaks.

Now I'm thinking Angela's just fucking nuts. The alternate universe thing was just something for White Rose to get Angela on her side in order to keep a lid on Elliot. Where's the value for White Rose to move to another universe when she's fairly close to being God Emperor of this one? The attack might be the one possible thing that could get Elliot, Mr. Robot, Dom, the FBI, Price, and E-Corp all on the same side which is going to be interesting to see. Probably my favorite scene this season was WR and Pryce sharing awkward small talk between their attempts of world domination.

I don't think this quite worked for me. I usually love "oners." When they work nothing is better at putting the audience into the mindset of the characters, especially during action scenes. I'm thinking Children of Men or True Detective. Here, I never really felt it was suspenseful or exciting enough. Felt like about half the episode was Elliot or Angela staring into space. Maybe understandable considering the production challenges but killed the mood for me. I wonder if the episode would have worked better that if they just did two or three long takes at a few minutes apiece, allowing them more time to buff up the excitement in those segments.

I wonder if Esmail could go back a few years he'd make White Rose Russian. I'm not a fan of the Trump references that have already happened and probably going to increase. Blaming it on one hacker mastermind is way too pat. This was my favorite episode of the season so far which speaks to an increasingly serious issue I'm having with the show, I am extremely bored with Mr. Robot/Elliot relationship. I know that's the central dynamic of the show but it just feels so repetitive to me. At this point, I think I prefer the Elliot-light episodes. I thought Successor last year was the best episode of season two.

"This is kind of like a movie where they want to get the bad guy by getting his wife." Shut the fuck up, Probst. I got a bad feeling how all these twists are going to turn out. I've seen enough twist-crazy reality shows where the twists are relatively harmless until they completely destroy the fabric of a season. I mean we had a tribe flip with three different tribes with five people each. Obviously there's going to be a scramble to get the majority vote. Why not let that play out? I'm digging Ashley and I actually enjoy Alan's craziness so not the TC for me.

Seriously, big props for Ben McKenzie. I thought that was the best episode of the season. He seemed to treat the characters with a little more respect than they're use to while nailing some of those Gotham flourishes that gives the show its style. Considering how often the Gotham writers botch their female characters, McKenzie even wrote some good material for Sofia. I'm wondering if Bullock suddenly being out of the picture was because filming was around the time of Donal Logue's daughter's disappearance.

I'm happy that Patrick's gone. Didn't necessary dislike him but the whole Ali/Patrick being friends pre-game left a bad taste in my mouth. Especially sticking them on the same starting tribe. I had a bad fear that it was going to be some big unspoken thing this season and give them both an advantage long-term. And I really hope the Survivor producers don't make a similar mistake like that again. But it was cut off relatively early and I'm glad.

I'm alright with Abby right now and I'm curious where they're going with her long-term. I hope it's something a little more than one more woman's descent into prostitution, although I can see a lot of similarities between her and Candy. It would be very David Simon-ish to show one getting in just as one is getting out. Arguably one of the worst things we seen in the show so far was Darlene trying to push one (if not all) of her friends into Larry's hands. That was fucked up. The scene between Rudy, Vincent, and Black Frankie really brought home how weirdly diverse Vincent's entire group is. He's working with mobsters while employing black ex-vets, a gay bartender, his working stiff brother-in-law and deadbeat brother, and the '70s version of Hooter waitresses.

Considering The Good Place's shorter season length, still 13 episodes, I wouldn't be surprised if most of her scenes were already filmed.

I think I'm done with the show. It's reached that point where everything is an unbearable slog for the characters and by extension, the audience. Killing Wes was a major blow to the series. Even though I wouldn't classify him as a great character, he still felt like an emotional center for the show and losing him has irrevocably damaged the cast's chemistry. He was the main tie between Annalise and the Keating 5. Without him, I just can't really believe Annalise would go to the trouble to keep this group together.

That's crazy. I loved the first season of Joe Schmo and that was primarily for Matt who in my opinion, was a funnier and more engaging character than any of the improv comics around him. I can't even imagine how much that situation must have fucked with his head though. Anyway, back to the episode. Really enjoyed it but also showed the way this particular version of the premise isn't sustainable long-term. I still haven't given up hope that Michael's actually running a con on the Bad Place demons (or whatever they'll called) and trying to show the possibility of redemption with E/C/T/J. I also think it'll be a nice twist if the demons are forced into a position of having to interact and emphasize with humans for the first time ever and that starts a full reform of the Bad Place's way of doing business.