Auntie Anxiety

Apparently Alicia never heard all the stories about Chicago politics. That's how it's played, Alicia. You're going to make a great sacrificial lamb. Now maybe the show can go back to something far more interesting? Hopefully? If Alicia is planning to have a relationship with Finn, she's too late. Lady Mary got to him first.

I was thinking that cedar was used for the beehives because it stands up well against the elements? I'm hoping and praying that my tax dollars won't be spent on this guy and his wife who decided it was time to procreate, even though they had no money for a safety net. And did I miss something about the sneaker guys because why were they wearing kilts? I'll go out on a limb and suggest that the guy (I'm a lawyer! I'm a lawyer!...as if that's a plus?) from Africa wasn't Scottish. Also, those memory foam inserts? I believe Dr. Scholl's already has that covered. A baby who wants its pacifier wouldn't have the dexterity to grab the pacifier until s/he was also old enough to find a "clipped on" one. I had my kids decades ago and often wonder how I managed to raise them without all these ridiculous bells and whistles. What a waste of money. But then again, I wasn't busy chatting on my iPhone or checking out my FaceBook or Twitter accounts so I actually had the time to pick up the pacifier when my sons dropped it. The stuffed animal guy was there for free advertising, in my opinion.

Yeah, Danny is such a tool and a dangerous one at that. The actor (Ben Mendelsohn?) does a great job portraying the prick that Danny is.

I bought it. None of them knew what he was capable of. I'm not sure that Danny knew what he was capable of. I thought that the siblings saw Danny as very menacing and desperate. He created a vortex around him wherever he went and people ended up getting sucked into it and the siblings knew this from past experience with him. Everything he touched turned to shit. Seems like the siblings and his mom tried to be kind to him, but no good deed went unpunished. His behavior was inconsistent and unpredictable. It probably wasn't that he would drown Janey, but no one could be 100% sure that he wouldn't. Meg couldn't be sure that he would tell Marco about Meg's cheating; he was acting like a cat with a half-dead mouse. He was intent on getting revenge and he had nothing to lose, which made him even more dangerous. Even I wanted to kill him.

I (perhaps mistakenly) attributed that to people being mindful of exposure to the sun, especially Sally/Cissy Spacek who is so fair-skinned.

He can always argue what the meaning of "is" is and then go about his usual business. I've seen it work before. Gunnar, it really is okay to be without a girlfriend for a week or two. Try it out for a change and stop being so damn needy. Gah!

Another shallow observation from me--Natasha (or should I say whatever the name of the actress who plays her is) needs to go back to her plastic surgeon's office and demand her money back because that nose job is horrific and just plain difficult to look at. No one in the world has a nose like that. Maybe that's what Natasha wants the $500K for, to get the procedure reversed?

So Rayna has cried all her makeup off during her argument with Deacon and then suddenly has a full makeup face on post coitus? Wow, Deacon really is that good! The toothpick in the Luke-Sadie coffee scene seemed to have a mind of its own. It was very distracting and totally lacked continuity. They need to hire a better toothpick that knows how to stay on the same side of the actor's mouth during all the takes. We will need to come up with a new name for the band if Gunnar and Scarlett give a their relationship another go. If I were Daphne, I'd feel like the red-headed stepchild. The whole "loving family except not" hug was offensive and disrespectful to her in my opinion. Jeff looked like some alien from Mars with that hoodie on his head. Not a good look. Now back to our less shallow thoughts........

I'm not sure how happy I am about a second season. I thought Mendelsohn really made this show; his acting was superb and so unnerving. Danny was the epitome of a menacing, manipulative tool and Mendelsohn did a great job of conveying it. I was also impressed by how well he could deliver a straight line to a fellow actor but let us know that what he was saying was bullshit. That's a real talent. I wanted to kill Danny myself by the time episode 3 rolled around. Guess Season 2 will be his son being an asshole like Danny, threatening John with what he saw in Miami, the old guy investigator digging around about Danny's death and Sally continuing to be delusional about her perfect little family.

I was wondering about that myself, like what could be the possible explanation of the both of them wearing seersucker suits? A barbershop quartet contest? Riding on a Rayburn Inn float in some Key West parade?

Seems to me like Danny was responsible for Sarah's death when they were kids or at least the father believes that to be the case, and has never forgiven him.

He was the guy who Meg was having sex with in the car.

I finally realized Danny referring to Meg as "Mister" is a mash-up (also known as a portmanteau) of "Meg" and "Sister." The show can be a bit confusing but I think things will start fitting together like a puzzle. Don't forget that these are the same people responsible for Damages.

Farewell to Athlestan and his abs. They, I mean, he, will be sorely missed.

Color me shocked when Marty fell into the water (he was trying to get over the newly built bridge that was supposed to look like it had been there for years except the small logs looked like they were newly cut and had absolutely no chance to weather). I think it's in the contract that every time he comes into contact with water, he's supposed to somehow do a faceplant right into it.

All I can say right now is "Go Land Crabs!"

I know that if I let my dog listen to my sons or my best friend on the phone, she starts looking around the house, wondering where the person is and it makes her stressed. My take? Let sleeping dogs lie :-)

I wondered how easy it was for the dog to push the whole thing over, rip it apart to get the treats and break the tablet. But that's just me. I mean, I have a really good dog who has a decent amount of self-restraint (and basically doesn't care if I leave her home alone as long as there is a Kong and some peanut butter involved), but there are tons of idiots out there who would end up leaving a puppy home alone with ICPooch, thinking this was a panacea. The shattered tablet could be a real recipe for disaster.

Tricky's grandson was hilariously awful.

At some point, it will probably be revealed that Lucious is the father, just like Lola, because, why not? This is one crazy ass show. Every week I feel like I'm channeling Bill Murray's character in Tootsie (great comedy for all of you who weren't born yet), when Dorothy MIchaels pulls off the wig to expose that "she" is really Dorothy's brother who has come for revenge. It's a huge moment in the soap opera within the movie and BM, who is watching from his couch, says "That is one. crazy. hospital." That's how I feel week after week.

Seemed like they brought in all the heavy hitters for this episode--Meryl Streep's daughter, Diane's hubby, Michael J. Fox, Lady Mary's future boyfriend, the young guy who was the defendant (can't remember his name but he is a rising star) and Dennis Lehane, who always reminds me of American Horror Story. ETA--made a mistake. It was Dennis O'Hare. Dennis Lehane is an author

Those gloves screamed bar mitzvah to me.

I thought so too and wondered, with the dozens of production assistants, etc on hand, how anyone could not notice that Ragnar was holding a plastic or paper cup during the scene. Initially I didn't like the way Fimmel did the herky jerky movements and the weird tics, but I have come to adore it. After watching him and Lagertha flirting with each other during the feast, I needed a cigarette.

So was The Wanderer supposed to be one of the gods? Maybe I wasn't paying attention.

I pictured the three of them wearing Green Bay cheese head hats.