Auntie Anxiety

I don't believe that Perry ever really wanted to control his anger or his behavior. Everything he does is to manipulate. He's not "only" an abuser. He's a narcissistic sociopath who doesn't really think HE needs help. He thinks Celeste needs help. Going to a marriage counselor is just a part of the cycle of violence. He probably thought Dr. Calamity Jane would buy his bullshit, but she didn't really. I certainly didn't, but I lived with and put up with an emotional abuser for decades. This wasn't the first domestic abuse couple Dr. CJ has seen and with experience, one can become quite good at noticing patterns of behavior pretty damned quickly. Wrt the music that the kids are listening to, when I was growing up, my father had a dental office in our house and he'd tune the living room stereo (which was also wired to speakers in his office) to what used to be called elevator music, show tunes, Frank Sinatra type stuff. As a result, as a young girl I became fluent in that music (when I watched Name That Tune in the mid-70's, I was able to name most tunes in 2-3 notes and sometimes even knew the tune just from the description even before the music started). Now kids are surrounded by music and if they hear something they like, all they have to do is google it on a computer or other device. Have got to say that those twins are gorgeous little boys. Perfect casting.

Dr. Calamity Jane needed a way to get through to Celeste who is in deep denial and continues to blame herself for Perry's behavior. Since Celeste is an attorney, Dr. CJ came at her with that same approach, something Celeste would be able to identify with a finally understand.

I thought Madeline's green vomit was the salad coming back up. Weren't Bonnie and Nathan preparing spices or greens when they were sitting outside? Also Madeline took a tranquilizer and was drinking wine and that's never a good combination.

What would be the point? Sue Jane for what? Jane doesn't have anything although Renata probably could get her on some sort of assault charge which would most likely end in probation.

If those dogs are anything like my dog, they can go for hours and hours without peeing (my female dog can go about 12-14 hours if need be even though she is elderly). I wish I had her bladder! I believe I saw Ruger in an coming attraction. Once again, I am ecstatic that Bob was able to return to his beloved wilderness.

If you are truly devoted to this lifestyle, you quickly realize that shooting willy nilly at everything and anything only ruins your own hopes for the future. The calves will one day grow up and produce their own offspring, thus keeping the caribou population large enough for you to continue to hunt. And they never want to make an animal suffer needlessly. It's part of their pact with nature, I think.

You said it better than I ever could. This show has become an untethered mess of nonsense although I found the CTUUD's entrance into the Den of Jihad so entertaining and hilarious. Can we just make this show into 24: Isaac & His Crew? The actor playing Eric simply cannot carry this show. He doesn't have very much range and the bad writing makes it even more painful to watch. And what the hell is Jimmy Smits doing? I used to think he was a pretty good actor. He's bringing the boring. Or maybe he's also an innocent victim of a horrible script.

I think a separation/divorce between Axe and Lara is probably something the writers would want to save for a few seasons down the road, when they hit the creative wall. You want to keep some of your powder dry, even if you have an overlaying 5-6 year outline. My guess is they'll also keep the door open for an Axe-Wendy romantic relationship. No reason to hurry into it; it will always be there if/when you need it.

Was so thrilled to see that Bob is coming back. As a cancer survivor, I was fighting with him so he could return to the place he loves. Hope he can keep going back until he is an elderly GREAT-grandfather. Congrats to him and his family.

Just came here to say the same thing, QuinnM. If Amabella were my kid, she'd have been at the pediatrician's office asap. Skin-eating bacteria, anyone?

Welcome back, Last Alaskans. I've missed you. Best reality/documentary show in my viewing rotation because it's not contrived; events happen organically and all their activities and adventures are interesting. I often wonder how they manage (and know I never could). Have to say that I find each episode bittersweet and usually get a bit misty when Heimo takes a walk down memory lane. He and I are at the same point in our lives and I can identify so strongly with his sentimentality. Looks like Tyler's wife is pregnant, according to the coming attractions. Those beautiful dogs will be taking a back seat soon.

I watched the first season, but I can't remember that scene. It was common knowledge during the 80's (I was an adult by that point and watched Nightline every night before bed) that living conditions (housing, food, transportation, clothing) in the Eastern Bloc were deplorable and there were long, long lines to get into a market. You had to hope that there would be something left when you finally made your way to the front door and you would be happy to get it regardless if what it was.

After what Elizabeth had to endure in order to become a top-shelf spy, it's hard to imagine that she could easily turn her back on the USSR. If she did, it would mean that her whole life up to this point has been a waste. The sexual assaults, the training to become unfeeling, the murders that she committed....then waking up one morning and saying "WTF? Why am I doing this? Russia sucks and the US is so much better," would be tantamount to her accepting that she threw her life away for what?

Once again, he does this in very subtle ways and she is now conditioned to know what is and is not acceptable. He moved her to Monterrey, away from her old friends and family. He doesn't want her to go back to work; it would make her too independent. She didn't tell him about the planned road trip to San Luis Obispo because she knew he would say no. She simply feels that she cannot do what she really wants to do and feels like she has to ask his permission to do something other than meet her friends at Blue Blues coffee shop. That's not how a grown-ass woman should have to live her life. If she dares to want to do something that she is concerned might not be Perry-approved, she has to pick and chose her words very carefully so as not to piss him off.....and she never knows from one day to another what that might be because he is irrational.

I was more surprised than most because I just finished watching "Sneaky Pete" last night in which Alison Wright plays a pivotal role. I was so pleased to see her again tonight.p The female food store manager looked familiar. Was she Tony Sopranos Russian (one legged) girlfriend?

That's probably what Jane's rift with her family is about.

If I were Jane, I would have dragged a lawyer into the school with me. Nothing puts a school's administration on notice faster than a visit from an attorney. Generally, I'm not on board with parents who do this because they refuse to accept the notion that their gentle snowflake could possibly do something mean, but there is so much at stake with Renata's baseless accusations, including Ziggy's academic future. This kind of crap can follow a kid around for years. Maybe it was a prom dress. Perhaps the prom took place at a seaside hotel ballroom and Jane met the rapist somewhere in the hotel, hallway, restaurant, outside on the porch, looking at the ocean? Certainly the timeline would be correct. Pregnant in the spring, Ziggy is six years old and Jane is 25.

A couple of thoughts after re-watching this episode: I am a little conflicted about Perry's relationship with the twins. On the one hand, he enjoys hanging out with them, he's a lot of fun, he's playful and he appears to be able to set limits for them. But at the same time, it results in making his relationship with them into a "boys' club," and subtly (or not so subtly) turns it all into a misogynistic paradigm. They don't listen to Celeste (even though Perry half-heartedly tells them to listen to their mother), they shoot nerf guns at her while he holds her and they learn how to treat women from him (I'm sure a lot of us have seen sons talk to their mothers the same way their fathers do; I liken it to treating their mother like the hired help). The other point is that among the reasons that Renata has a meltdown is because she is used to being the one in control and she can't control this. Her screaming at Amabella, although not directed to Amabella, only serves to make her daughter feel like she did something wrong. Amabella doesn't know what to say! If she says that Ziggy isn't the culprit, Renata will get angry because Amabella lied. If she accuses another kid/person, then it will set Renata off on another crazy rant, which Amabella doesn't want to set off. Amabella ends up feeling like she's in a Catch 22.

Probably much more than Celeste realizes. Kids are very intuitive and the twins certainly have ears. Kids pick up on stuff. Ziggy even told the child psych about how his mother gets a certain look on her face when he asks her about his father. And in families like the Wrights, wherein something is "wrong," the kid (or kids) carry it in their own behavior. Sometimes it's like the kid behaves badly, maybe in the hopes of distracting the parents and making them have to band together to deal with the kid. It's classic that the child ends up expressing the problems that are supposedly hidden or private. MochaMajesty, The Wire--one of the most incredible shows ever produced.

I came here to say what Ms Blue Jay said. Perry was pissed because he didn't like the idea of Celeste going back to work. To him, work means that she is independent and she might realize that she can leave him and stand on her own two feet. Yes, if it were a gown, he'd have been pleased because it's a feather in his cap that he can buy her whatever she (really HE) wants and make all the others think he is such a successful businessman. My ex used to buy me gold chains in every length possible and wanted me to wear them to parties, receptions, celebrations, etc. I'd end up looking like Mr. T but I went along, just to shut him up.

I was so confused when they showed a just a frame of some young kids kneeling over a dead squirrel(?). I thought that maybe Amabella had been bitten by a rabid rodent! Those flashbacks/montages makes it difficult for me to decipher what the hell is imagined and what is "real." Yeah, I was wondering about the comment Dr. Calamity Jane (hehe) when Celeste called their sexual encounters "lovemaking." Dr. CJ said that at least Celeste refers to it as "lovemaking" and that is a positive, but lovemaking as opposed to what? Rape? Because I find the sex between them isn't really sex at all because it is fueled by rage and violence. YMMV

In the (not fake) news recently, there have been reports about just this kind of thing; the federal government collected the money/penalty and the previous administration, the money was then handed over to a non-profit group that did the bidding for that particular political party instead of being handed back over to the federal government (i.e., you and me, the taxpayers). From what I understand, that's going to end soon. Can't remember his name, but I really did think the wire tap guy was blowing it, what with too much wine and his emotions being on tilt, but I was wrong. He did a fantastic job. Glad Chuck addressed what I've been harping on for two seasons now--how did he end up with Wendy? They don't seem like they'd have much in common. He did impress me during his breakfast with the kids. Takes a big man to shoulder all the blame and admit he was responsible for their situation. That macho psychologist bugs the hell out of me. Axe needs to fire his ass asap. Surely there is someone out there less extreme and more effective.

The partners should sit down on Day One and discuss their personalities, their work ethic, their skill sets, etc. so that they can be proactive about getting along and figuring out a way to handle the dynamic between them. Set some ground rules like "I know I try to take control of situations and if I'm getting under your skin, just tell me and I'll back off," or "I'm pretty good at building things and have a lot of experience, but I'm open to suggestions." Sometimes you just need to stay in your lane and do your job, for both your sakes. I'm also wondering about the perfectly timed food availabilities on Day 20. These pairs sit out there for 19 days wringing their hands but suddenly find protein on the day before extraction? Talk about serendipity! What a coincidence.

We finally see Celeste talking back to Perry when he made a big deal about the toys being all over the floor. Guess she needed to prove to herself that she isn't afraid of talking to him after the therapist (Robin Weigert, you are fabulous!) asked her why she WAS afraid. Yeah, that went well. He collected the toys, turned the box over on her head and then went on to almost strangle her. Even before he came into the room, she had to close up her computer do he wouldn't see her working (or whatever she was doing) because she knew it would set him off. Walking on eggshells is not a part of a happy marriage. No way Jane shot the interior decorator. Maddie's ex is an idiot.

Or at the very least, I would have brought someone with me to serve as an eyewitness. That would have been after I ripped the teacher a new one for her outlandish behavior. I would have also asked the child psychologist to write a letter to the school, Renata, the teacher, etc. just to shut them all up and you make sure it ended up in Ziggy's file for future reference. Experience has taught me that paper trails are of utmost importance.