Auntie Anxiety

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.

I really hope Jane isn't the perp. What would happen to Ziggy? Who would take care of him?

Two things: I do think that one of Celeste's twins is the culprit and ends up blowing Celeste's secret when confronted with it. I could see someone, maybe that ridiculous teacher who has no business being in that profession, asking one of the twins in a public forum (like the first accusation against Ziggy) why he did it and the twin saying that he likes Amabella and the way you show a girl that you like her is to hurt her, just like dear old dad does to mom. The secret would be out! The other thing? Didn't the teacher tell Jane that she doesn't think Ziggy was the one who hurt Amabella after all? Isn't that something the teacher should be sharing with Renata and/or the rest of the parents?

If I were Philip in that conversation with Stan, I would have said, "You've never been a teenage girl, have you, Stan? Yeah, neither have I." and left it at that.

So much easier said than done. I was married to an emotionally abusive divorce lawyer for over 20 years. Custodial issues weren't really a part of the divorce since our sons were teenagers and had no interest in living with their father, his 19 year old girlfriend and their new baby. At the time, my then-husband didn't want a divorce. He (delusionally) wanted to stay married to me and hoped that I would agree to be "like a grandmother" to his new child because I did such a good job raising our sons (he went on to have three other kids after that). Even though he really didn't want that much to do with our sons, he would become enraged about me not getting his input wrt college applications, etc. I had to remind him that he was away on his honeymoon cruise while I was standing over our son helping him with his application on the night before it was due (my birthday, no less!). Like Maddie, I was left to do it all. I was their taxi, I was their parent, I was the one keeping tabs on them, I was the one who had to make sure they were emotionally okay, I was the one making sure they got their schoolwork done, I was the one worrying about when they'd get home, I was the one having to mend their broken hearts and on and on. I totally resented it but my wise therapist had a good reply when I complained about it all. I said I was tired of taking care of them and he said, "Who else would you want to do it?" I stopped complaining after that. It cost me hundreds of thousands of dollars. My ex represented himself and ran up my legal fees just because he could. He'd call my attorney and talk about nonsense for hours. He would obstruct, delay and then accuse me of being an obstructionist. Even after going to court and signing onto the divorce agreement, he viewed the divorce decree as a mere "suggestion" and thought he could pick and choose which parts he wanted to follow. While most people might be intimidated by going to court, he welcomed the opportunity (so he could show off his legal prowess). When I had to sue him time and again for his failure to pay child support and alimony, he would counter sue me for some imagined, phony thing and I was forced to pay legal counsel over and over again for trumped up charges because I would be in contempt of court if I didn't show up at court. There was no way in hell I could have represented myself. He knew the system too well. Going to court and having to deal with that kind of stress on an ongoing basis was horrendous and I believe it was a contributing factor to me falling ill with cancer (I'm fine now). Even though Celeste is a lawyer, it wouldn't be wise for her to represent herself. She'd have to get an expensive, high-powered lawyer like Perry would get. A man like Perry would never just go on his merry way post divorce. He would HAVE to make his wife pay. He'd do whatever he had to do to hold on to his belief that he was the one calling the shots. THIS!!! I was so ashamed. My kids were so ashamed. Their father was shacking up with a girl who was only a couple of years older than they were. What an embarrassment! Everyone thought we had a great marriage and that we were a fabulous family. He was an asshole and I put up with it for so many years and I kept thinking "What does that say about me?" Some people treated me like a pariah, worried that divorce was some sort of contagious disease. It was a very dark time (about 5 years from start to finish) of my life.

I get the feeling that Celeste has been conditioned not to tell Perry stuff that is going on because she doesn't know what will set him off; the less she tells him, the less he'll go ballistic about. That's part of the crazy-making. Damned if she does, damned if she doesn't. AS is doing a great job with the acting. Every time Perry is on the screen, I get a sense of foreboding. If anyone watched the first season of Bloodline on Netflix, he's the same type of character as the oldest brother (can't remember his name). You never knew what he was going to do or what he was capable of, but you always knew it would end badly because the guy is an untethered mess.

Renata was in the scene with the mayor and the town council in which Celeste was the lawyer arguing for Avenue Q.

It's no mistake that the guy who Madeline found on the computer looks very similar to Perry. So I guess at some point Jane hears his voice at the Audrey & Elvis party and puts two and two together. Or maybe not.

I won't say it either, MochaMajesty. I'll chalk my suspicions up to experience. Over the years, I've become hypersensitive to controlling men and emotional abuse. Since Celeste was pregnant with twins, she probably had to spend much of her pregnancy at home resting, just what Perry wanted. Slowly things could have morphed into control and isolation and Perry needing to smack her around because he didn't want her to be one independent. As far as a high-powered female lawyer succumbing to this, you never know what someone's emotional baggage is. She might stick around for the kids, she might think that if she takes his abuse then the kids will be safe, etc. There's also the old adage about what you find most attractive in a partner early on is what you may end up loathing after a while. Celeste might have loved having a strong guy who takes charge, what with her always having to be in control in her career. I'm thinking that one of the twins is hurting Amabella but she can't tell them apart and if she accuses the wrong one, she'll be in some 6yo's idea of trouble.

Maybe it wouldn't be so bad for the show to now revolve around Maddie if she were a better, more nuanced actress. Right now she has two looks: her scrunched up crying face and her "who farted?" face. Did she and Scarlett go to the same acting school?

Apparently Trevor Noah (or Noah Trevor or whatever the hell his name is) is as insufferable in a nighttime soap opera as he is on his own show. At least that's what I gather because I don't watch his show. I'm not in that demographic, thank goodness. Was thrilled they didn't spend more than a few seconds on Maddie's no-longer-a-boyfriend, (Clay?) who is not a convincing actor. And I can't stand how Daphne is being treated like an afterthought. Good writers would know how to create an interesting story line for her. If anyone should be acting out, it's her, just so someone would notice and pay attention to her.

I didn't understand half of what was going on in the episode since I always run the closed captioning and it lagged behind so much that it rendered it useless. Toward the end, it caught up for a minute or two but then the sound glitch occurred and I got terribly frustrated. I'm completely unspoiled and thought the episode when Miller ends up finding his lost love on Eros was the finale. I would have been okay with that.

Maybe you are referring to the time he went to the sex club and the woman he was with, who turned out to be Wendy's coach/teacher at an S&M workshop, called Wendy because Chuck hadn't gotten permission from Wendy to be there in the first place?

Thank you all for straightening some things out for me. I didn't realize that that was William's body; to me it looked like a female. Henry looked so grown up. How much longer can they expect him to be clueless?

To me, the investigator was doing his best to compliment and fawn all over Sacker in the hope that she'd fall for his flattery and spill some info. Sacked didn't take the bait.

I agree. I found this episode boring. Nothing really happened to move the story forward. It feels like the writers had a carefully and deftly constructed outline for the first season and now don't quite know what to do. I'm just not as interested in Eric Bogasian's (?) character as I am with Axe and don't really care if Chuck gets him or not. Chuck has become more unbearable and I continue to question what Wendy could possibly find attractive about him. Someone above noted that Wendy must not be as insightful as she thinks if she thought that Krakow (? I can only think of him as Paris' husband on Gilmore Girls) wanted her at the poker tournament for anything other than to piss Bobby off.

He should have bailed on the bomb plan, shaved his head and called himself Heisenberg. Why didn't someone drag in Uncle Tio? Isn't he supposed to be Major Dad's right hand man?

Just occurred to me that perhaps Amabella was playing that strangling game (can't remember if there is an actual name for it--I think the near asphyxiation leads to a feeling of being high), knew it was naughty and put the blame on Ziggy so she wouldn't get a raft of shit from her mother?

Maybe I am noticing it too, but having a camera crew following you around and prompting you to expound on your innermost thoughts isn't exactly what I call "being alone." Guess I've been spoiled by the show "Alone."

I think you can. Perry might believe that Celeste will leave him but then he manipulates her into taking responsibility for his feelings. "If you loved me, you would be able to read my mind and it's your job to know what I want. If you go against what I am thinking (even though I haven't told you what I am thinking), that means that you don't love me and you are going to find someone else." It's a Catch 22. It didn't sound like Celeste left her career because she wanted to, but because Perry wanted her to (probably he didn't like her giving the attention to anything but him. I can't recall, but did ANY of the fathers attend? I think Renata sees her daughter as an accessory. She's into school/mom politics because she needs to elbow everyone else out of the way so Amabella succeeds, which will make Renata look good. The whole "gifted, sensitive, mature, etc." speech that Renata gave in her husband's office has little to do with Amabella and a lot to do with how Renata sees herself.