S03.E14: United Front

[ElectricBoogaloo]

Quote

Rome tries to help Tyrell find a productive outlet for his frustrations about the racial issues in America; Regina deals with her mother's concerns regarding the future of Someday; Katherine and Eddie struggle to navigate their relationship.

Promo:

Original air date: 5/19/21

[ams1001]

God I hate Regina's mom. She spends the whole time criticizing Regina and then when she pushes back it's all about 'I just want to be the best mom...'

Kathryn's gonna ask for full custody, isn't she?

Again with the "cuddling."

Wouldn't it be easier (and safer) to bring Eddie and the chair down the stairs separately?

 

[Madding crowd]

Taking Theo away from his dad would hurt her son, she is being vindictive. It seems so weird that Delilah is gone so long and Gary is just living in their house. I’m guessing Regina has some kind of brain bleed from her injury. I think her mom can be annoying but does love her daughter. 

[gonzosgirrl]

If they were trying to make Katherine completely unsympathetic,  they succeeded.  

There wasn't much to like about this episode. I guess if there's a bright spot, it reinforced my opinion that Gary is a great friend. 

[Brian Cronin]

I believe Nash, back in Season 1, even made a comment about wanting to constantly "flip" characters, so that if we think one way about a character for too long, he wants to flip the other way. He's not very good at this stuff, so it's usually pretty bad, but I imagine that that is what he's doing with Katherine, as we're so used to "poor Saint Katherine" that he wants us to see a darker side of her now. 

[Lady Calypso]

Regina's mom is...well, certainly in character. I like that she's very consistent with her constantly critiquing Regina for every little thing, and Florence doesn't really get it because she hasn't seen Regina and her mom interact. So I feel bad that Regina constantly has to hear her mother judge her for everything that she does, and it sucks that her mom always finds a way to turn it back on her. However, she does still love her, as evident with many scenes with them, especially the last one where she comforts her child when she realizes that something's wrong. Obviously it has to do with her injury from the protest, so hopefully she can find out what's wrong and get it fixed. And if it's not because of the protest and because of some tumour or something....knowing this show, they'd go that direction too. So hopefully, she's ok.

Yeah, Katherine certainly is trying to steamroll Eddie out of the picture. I'm not thrilled with this direction, but I get they somewhat set it up in the early series with Eddie wanting to leave Katherine for several reasons, so they're just happening to bring back her more dominant and controlling side. I don't love it, but I get it and it's understandable. They really are working hard at making me feel bad for Eddie. That look he gave Gary at the end when he said that he thought that Katherine wasn't going to give him full custody? That had to suck. 

The Sophie/Maggie/Danny stuff was decent. I feel so bad for Sophie, who is still dealing with Peter's sexual assault and now having to realize that she's not the only one (there's never ONLY one). 

Tyrell, it's great that you want to protest and film everything, because that's very noble. But you still have to go to school; listen to your foster dad.

[SunnyBeBe]

I got about 15 minutes into this episode and realized that for me it was too much of a chore to watch it.  After reading what happened, I think it was a wise decision.  

[ams1001]

9 hours ago, Madding crowd said:

Taking Theo away from his dad would hurt her son, she is being vindictive. It seems so weird that Delilah is gone so long and Gary is just living in their house. I’m guessing Regina has some kind of brain bleed from her injury. I think her mom can be annoying but does love her daughter. 

I'm guessing she wants full custody with visitation, instead of Theo splitting his time between them. I don't think she'd take Theo away from him completely. That might be reasonable at the moment with Eddie fresh out of rehab, but if he does well going forward I don't think that's fair in the long run.

21 minutes ago, Lady Calypso said:

Tyrell, it's great that you want to protest and film everything, because that's very noble. But you still have to go to school; listen to your foster dad.

Yeah, it's nice that his teacher was willing to let him do a project on the protests for extra credit, but that shouldn't mean he gets to skip class. What about the rest of his classes? He can't only be taking history. 

Concussions can take a while to recover from. It's only been a few days, right? Regina having headaches and small memory/attention lapses probably shouldn't be unexpected. But this is a soapy drama so it's almost certainly going to be something else. Either her head injury is worse than they thought or the blow triggered some other issue that was already there.

[Arcadiasw]

Maybe I missed it but did the school imply that Peter is a predator to young girls or they had suspicions? 

Tyrell was really disrespectful. He's lucky that's the 'punishment' he got. Didn't the protests really kick off the end of May? I know schools normally at this time but I thought they ended earlier because of Covid. I know in my area schools end two weeks early. 🤷‍♀️

[cardigirl]

Looks like we might be heading into Promising Young Woman territory, with Sophie doing detective work to find out about previous victims of her tutor/teacher. 

I'm so disappointed with the twist in the Katherine/Eddie saga.  Really sad. I love both actors, and I guess struggling through a divorce is going to give them great dramatic scenes to chew through, but honestly, I'm not up to it.  And a custody battle too?  Yeesh. Didn't Katherine threaten Delilah with a custody battle last season over baby Charlie? (Who will be ready for college by the next time we see her.) 

I still like when there are scenes between the guys (the comedic banter is always well done) but I really wish Eddie could get some peace. 

I am enjoying Karen Robinson's character. Loved her in Schitt's Creek and she's doing a wonderful job on this show. And as Florence, I think Florence had every right to bow out of a scuffle between Regina and her mother. She saw that Regina was putting her in the middle and said "no, no way, you go talk to your MOTHER."  But in a kindly manner. 

Glad to hear the show is renewed, I guess, because I hope they'll resolve some of the storylines in a manner I like better than the directions they are going in now.  

[Arcadiasw]

16 minutes ago, ams1001 said:

I'm guessing she wants full custody with visitation, instead of Theo splitting his time between them. I don't think she'd take Theo away from him completely. That might be reasonable at the moment with Eddie fresh out of rehab, but if he does well going forward I don't think that's fair in the long run.

 

Concussions can take a while to recover from. It's only been a few days, right? Regina having headaches and small memory/attention lapses probably shouldn't be unexpected. But this is a soapy drama so it's almost certainly going to be something else. Either her head injury is worse than they thought or the blow triggered some other issue that was already there.

I don't see anything wrong in Katherine getting full custody until Eddie gets his life together. He has a lot of issues he can't fully commit to caring for his son alone and visiting seems reasonable for now. 

As for Regina storyline, because of Covid with hospitals flooded at that time it's reasonable Regina would be misdiagnosed or doctors rush Regina out without suggesting she comes back in for a checkup.

[gonzosgirrl]

On paper, Katherine would likely have no problems getting full custody. She's a working lawyer, Eddie's an unemployed musician fresh out of rehab. But 'facts' don't tell the whole story, and it's likely both Theo and their friends will turn against her if she 'punishes' Eddie for his relapse by restricting his time with their kid. I dislike storylines about kids in adult drama and the best of times; I hate custody crap, and when I already can't stand the kid character - I foresee a lot of fast-forwarding in the future.

[ams1001]

10 minutes ago, Arcadiasw said:

I don't see anything wrong in Katherine getting full custody until Eddie gets his life together. He has a lot of issues he can't fully commit to caring for his son alone and visiting seems reasonable for now. 

They can always revisit custody arrangements later. Which he might have a better shot at if they don't go all in fighting now. He should find a place nearby that can accommodate his chair (which his current house really can't), push for a fair visitation schedule, and focus on getting his life together. 

[ElectricBoogaloo]

I don't put any of the blame for what happened on Liam. The fault lies squarely with the adults in this situation. I loathe when parents and adults act like children who are physically present in the same house/apartment are rendered completely incapable of hearing human voices if they are more than 12" away from said adults. It's not Liam's fault that he heard what Gary and Darcy were discussing at a regular volume.

Ugh, Gina's mom is such a pill. She was getting pissy because Regina already had plans for the afternoon. Just because you have nothing to do doesn't mean you should expect other people to have wide open schedules so you can hang out. My parents have a similar attitude about calling/texting me. They contact me in the middle of the day and then freak out or get annoyed when I don't respond right away. YOU KNOW I HAVE A JOB. YOU KNOW THAT'S WHERE I AM. YOU KNOW I GET TERRIBLE RECEPTION AT WORK. And of course 99% of the time that they text or call me in the middle of the day, it is completely non-urgent, yet they act like I'm being totally rude because I didn't reply 30 second later. Your adult children have schedules that don't revolve around you, so please don't get upset when they have work stuff that they need to do. Regina wasn't just hanging out getting day drunk (not that there's anything wrong with that either). She was learning recipes for her restaurant (which is in danger of closing). But apparently her mom couldn't suggest seeing Gina afterward or tomorrow or this weekend or any other day or time. Instead she decided to just show up at the restaurant and ambush her about a new career selling closets. GAWD. But I really appreciated that Florence tried so hard to keep the peace.

What really annoyed me about Shelly's whole "I can't do anything right" whining was that she claimed she just wanted Regina to love herself and be safe. If she loves being a chef, then let her be a chef instead of telling her to start selling closets. I was so glad that Gina stood up to her mom and told her to just be supportive instead of asking her to give up her dream job.

What if Florence was young and/or white? Would Shelly still feel threatened and jealous that Gina was spending time with her and getting recipes from her?

Oh, Tyrell. I get wanting to be involved in something you're passionate about, but you can't be totally myopic. Do you want to flunk out of high school? I know it can be hard to comprehend when you're 16 and you want to do what you want to do, but making a living at almost anything is difficult if you don't have a high school diploma.

So I guess Sophie is going to play detective so she can prove that Layla Gregory died by suicide due to their music teacher being a creepy abuser.

[gonzosgirrl]

Honestly, if I had to deal with Theo 24/7 I would not be fighting for custody. Heh.

[Madding crowd]

25 minutes ago, Arcadiasw said:

I don't see anything wrong in Katherine getting full custody until Eddie gets his life together. He has a lot of issues he can't fully commit to caring for his son alone and visiting seems reasonable for now. 

As for Regina storyline, because of Covid with hospitals flooded at that time it's reasonable Regina would be misdiagnosed or doctors rush Regina out without suggesting she comes back in for a checkup.

Eddie has been Theo’s primary caregiver since birth and being in a wheelchair should not affect custody arrangements . Parents who fight for full custody usually restrict and sometimes forbid visits with the other parent and that wouldn’t be fair to Theo or Eddie. And Katherine herself had been engaging in a romantic relationship while still married so she isn’t innocent here . 

[ams1001]

6 minutes ago, Madding crowd said:

Eddie has been Theo’s primary caregiver since birth and being in a wheelchair should not affect custody arrangements

Yeah, I don't think just the fact that he's in a wheelchair should be a consideration; Theo is old enough that he doesn't need the kind of care that Eddie's physical circumstances might make difficult (and if he wasn't, it would be more a matter of making sure his house is set up in a way that would make it possible for him to perform the necessary tasks...his upper body works fine so he would be able to do baby care stuff as long as the things he needs are in reach; same for, say, making dinner for himself and Theo, and Theo is old enough to do things for himself as well (as long as it doesn't involve hot glue, at least)). The fact that he's unemployed and just out of rehab would be a better argument for Katherine to make. I really hope she doesn't try to make it difficult for him to have a good relationship with Theo, because that is not drama I want to see.

[Suzn]

I have more to say about this episode later, but I need to get this out:  I don't want to hear Maggie singing again - ever!

[Daff]

Katherine is a lawyer and has some rudimentary knowledge of family law. While I know she’s finally had it with Eddie’s relapses and poor choices, I didn’t feel a vindictive vibe when she cautioned Theo to wait and see. While the court cannot issue a verdict against shared custody because Eddie is confined to a wheelchair (ADA-it would be discriminatory), they can certainly consider Eddie’s past and recent behavior in terms of responsibility and reliability as a parent/custodial caregiver. I mean, really, between Eddie and Theo, who’s the adult?
I viewed that scene as Katherine not wanting to express a future scenario to Theo only to disappoint him-he wouldn’t take it well. Realistically, at this point in time, the best Eddie can hope for is supervised visitation (and he ought to realize that). 
 

Sophie, go round em up girl, as stated above, “there’s never only one” ........or two! That slimeball’s machinations were far too professionally orchestrated to be one or two-off occurrences. 

[gonzosgirrl]

1 hour ago, Daff said:

Katherine is a lawyer and has some rudimentary knowledge of family law. While I know she’s finally had it with Eddie’s relapses and poor choices, I didn’t feel a vindictive vibe when she cautioned Theo to wait and see. While the court cannot issue a verdict against shared custody because Eddie is confined to a wheelchair (ADA-it would be discriminatory), they can certainly consider Eddie’s past and recent behavior in terms of responsibility and reliability as a parent/custodial caregiver. I mean, really, between Eddie and Theo, who’s the adult?
I viewed that scene as Katherine not wanting to express a future scenario to Theo only to disappoint him-he wouldn’t take it well. Realistically, at this point in time, the best Eddie can hope for is supervised visitation (and he ought to realize that). 
 

Sophie, go round em up girl, as stated above, “there’s never only one” ........or two! That slimeball’s machinations were far too professionally orchestrated to be one or two-off occurrences. 

There is no reason for the court to even know unless they bring it up, is there? I don't know how these things work as I don't have kids, but would the court intervene in an uncontested custody agreement? It's not like Eddie did something illegal or caused harm - there were no police involved, he went to rehab voluntarily.

[lala2]

1 hour ago, gonzosgirrl said:

There is no reason for the court to even know unless they bring it up, is there? I don't know how these things work as I don't have kids, but would the court intervene in an uncontested custody agreement? It's not like Eddie did something illegal or caused harm - there were no police involved, he went to rehab voluntarily.

No, the court wouldn't. I'm a family lawyer, and there doesn't have to be a custody battle unless the parties make it a battle. If the divorce was uncontested, and they reached an agreement on custody/visiation, the judge would just enter the order. 

Eddie assumed he and Katherine would just split time w/Theo, but he now knows Katherine isn't going to want to split time w/him. They may still be able to reach an agreement though. I guess we'll find out next what Katherine is concerned about. Does she think he's may relapse and endanger Theo? What is her concern? 

I do think it's funny how much I supported her in Seasons 1 and 2 and now she's really getting on my nerves! I didn't like how she just ran upstairs and left Eddie downstairs. They baby Theo too much. It's annoying.  

[Lady Calypso]

8 minutes ago, lala2 said:

Eddie assumed he and Katherine would just split time w/Theo, but he now knows Katherine isn't going to want to split time w/him. They may still be able to reach an agreement though. I guess we'll find out next what Katherine is concerned about. Does she think he's may relapse and endanger Theo? What is her concern? 

I could see there being a couple of reasons why Katherine wouldn't want Eddie to have custody, at least right off the bat. I'm hoping Katherine just wants to discuss the custody agreement in more detail. She could be worried about Eddie's sobriety. He just relapsed a couple of months earlier, so her concern may be that she doesn't want him to relapse again while caring for Theo. Perhaps her concern is with his disability, which would be wrong of her to assume that he couldn't care for Theo with his disability, but it would be an angle to look into and consider. I could see these reasons, and probably others, as part of Katherine's defense on her hesitancy on 50/50 custody. 

I assume this will all be for moot and they'll reach an agreement. 

[Suzn]

Theo is so babyish.  Is he 10?  Asking for cuddling just does not sound like a boy his age.

I wasn't ever that fond of Katherine and I can't stand her now.  There's no reason she and Eddie can't share custody of the baby.

I've said this before but it bears repeating.  Maggie - stop singing.

I'd like to see Sophie go after the creep who assaulted her.  She could save other young girls from him and it would be therapeutic  for her.  I was reaching, just as Sophie did, for a word to describe what happened to her.

Gina's mother is so tone deaf and she doesn't get Gina at all.  She may mean well, but needs to have boundaries defined and explained to her.

 

[lala2]

1 hour ago, Lady Calypso said:

I could see there being a couple of reasons why Katherine wouldn't want Eddie to have custody, at least right off the bat. I'm hoping Katherine just wants to discuss the custody agreement in more detail. She could be worried about Eddie's sobriety. He just relapsed a couple of months earlier, so her concern may be that she doesn't want him to relapse again while caring for Theo. Perhaps her concern is with his disability, which would be wrong of her to assume that he couldn't care for Theo with his disability, but it would be an angle to look into and consider. I could see these reasons, and probably others, as part of Katherine's defense on her hesitancy on 50/50 custody. 

I assume this will all be for moot and they'll reach an agreement. 

Oh, I agree. I just hope she voices them next week so we know her concerns and aren't left guessing. He is unemployed, potentially homeless, and recently out of rehab. He's not in the best position - right now - to share custody but once he gets on his feet, that will be another story. They could do a very loose agreement where they both have joint physical and legal custody of Theo w/no details on who has him when, etc. 

Edited May 20, 2021 by lala2

[marceline]

Part of me just cracked up that after all the angst with Eddie and Katherine that it was Liam who dropped the truth bomb on Theo and did it so matter-of-factly. "You get two of everything."

Katherine's behavior during the counseling session was just vile. She was talking like she's already a single mom.

[gonzosgirrl]

5 minutes ago, marceline said:

Katherine's behavior during the counseling session was just vile. She was talking like she's already a single mom.

Between that and running up the stairs when she knew Eddie couldn't follow was supremely shitty. The kid was nt on fire ffs. Like I wrote earlier, my immediate reaction to this episode was if they were trying to turn me against her, they did a bang-up job.

Edited May 20, 2021 by gonzosgirrl

[Daff]

Thanks for the real life family law perspective. Good to know child safety is up there in the concerns of our judicial system. 
As for illegal, acquiring meds from Dakota wasn’t? And wailing on the neighbor’s car wasn’t? Katherine has legitimate concerns about Eddie’s stability at this point and I’m just not convinced that it stems purely from a desire for revenge. Just thought of another reason why shared custody might be difficult-as far as we know, Eddie has neither an income nor a residence? How will that work?

[ams1001]

1 hour ago, Suzn said:

Theo is so babyish.  Is he 10?  Asking for cuddling just does not sound like a boy his age.

He's 11 (going on 3, as someone put it a week or two ago).

1 hour ago, Daff said:

Thanks for the real life family law perspective. Good to know child safety is up there in the concerns of our judicial system. 
As for illegal, acquiring meds from Dakota wasn’t? And wailing on the neighbor’s car wasn’t? Katherine has legitimate concerns about Eddie’s stability at this point and I’m just not convinced that it stems purely from a desire for revenge. Just thought of another reason why shared custody might be difficult-as far as we know, Eddie has neither an income nor a residence? How will that work?

Maybe he can go live at Delilah's. (I'm half joking, but I don't see Katherine being vindictive enough to let her son's father be homeless, if it comes down to it. Certainly Gary won't; Maggie can get her own place again and he can stay at Gary's.)

[General Days]

Katherine's response ever since Eddie confessed he was using and wanted to go to rehab has really puzzled me. She was all gung-ho about renewing their vows, after he fathered a baby with Delilah, then he gets hit by a literal truck, is crippled, and uses and ends up abusing pain meds, but he came clean to her on his own and got himself help.

I get it, if it's just the last straw for her. What I don't get is why it is the last straw now. They were in a pretty good place prior to the accident, and now she doesn't have any empathy for him with the pain meds. 

I mean, overall, Eddie has not been a keeper. I guess I don't understand her booting him now when she has put up with worse crap.

 

6 hours ago, gonzosgirrl said:

On paper, Katherine would likely have no problems getting full custody. She's a working lawyer, Eddie's an unemployed musician fresh out of rehab. But 'facts' don't tell the whole story, and it's likely both Theo and their friends will turn against her if she 'punishes' Eddie for his relapse by restricting his time with their kid. I dislike storylines about kids in adult drama and the best of times; I hate custody crap, and when I already can't stand the kid character - I foresee a lot of fast-forwarding in the future.

 

We should look at the reasons Eddie was in rehab. He was an addict (alcoholic) in recovery for years (how old is Theo)?

He was then prescribed pain meds for his condition. He started taking them on the sly, but they were prescribed for them. He then flushed the prescribed meds down the toilet, because he didn't want to use them any more (which the writers seem to have forgotten) and then couldn't get a refill. Then he got pills from Dakota, but then he fessed up to Katherine and checked himself into rehab. He didn't end up there because a judge told him "rehab or jail" or even because Katherine said, "rehab or you're out."

A normal judge would see an addict who had a slip (and had it, at least in part to some mitigating factors), and then did what he needed to correct course. Of course this is TV, so that doesn't matter.

I kind of suspect Alan will talk Katherine down from going at Eddie too hard. Then Alan will end things with Katherine, because he'll say she's only this mad at Eddie because she loves him.
 

6 hours ago, ElectricBoogaloo said:

What if Florence was young and/or white? Would Shelly still feel threatened and jealous that Gina was spending time with her and getting recipes from her?

 

 

I think Shelley is the type who would still feel somewhat jealous, but it was more acute because Florence is Black, and she and Regina have experienced tension over the mixed nature of their family before.

 

1 hour ago, Daff said:

Thanks for the real life family law perspective. Good to know child safety is up there in the concerns of our judicial system. 
As for illegal, acquiring meds from Dakota wasn’t? And wailing on the neighbor’s car wasn’t? Katherine has legitimate concerns about Eddie’s stability at this point and I’m just not convinced that it stems purely from a desire for revenge. Just thought of another reason why shared custody might be difficult-as far as we know, Eddie has neither an income nor a residence? How will that work?

 

If the neighbor didn't press charges (I don't even think cops came to the house), Eddie smashing the car will only come up in court if Katherine brings it up. And even there, beyond the addiction, is the fact that the neighbor was hurling racist abuse at his little boy. Eddie lost it. Good role model? No. Understandable overreaction? Kind of. Ditto Eddie getting the pills from Dakota and taking pills from Regina. I would think the judge would see all of these incidents as part of Eddie's slip, which he has already addressed as best he can, by going to rehab. 

A judge might want to see him do 90 meetings (like A.A.) in 90 days or something to prove he's still on the right track, and maybe order therapy, but if Eddie's clean and sober, and stays that way, the court would't want to deny the child a father who loves him.

 

[tennisgurl]

This episode was just exhausting, just a never ending series of awkward and depressing situations. And not in an emotionally resonate way, but in a ugh way. Why does every single freaking situation need to be as dramatic as fucking possible? I so do not want to watch a custody battle between Katherine Eddie, this whole storyline has been an absolute miserable slogue to get through, and a custody battle where Katherine and Eddie have to fight against each other while Theo is stuck in the middle just sounds awful. I get Katherine wanting full custody right now, so soon after Eddie's relapse, and then talking about join custody once he has more time to get things together, but I fear that it will turn into an all or nothing situation, with him just getting to see Theo for a weekend per month or something, because its this show and they always have to add as much drama as they can. I have always been a big Katherine fan, so I hate the idea that she will get really intense fighting to get full custody, even this week she was engaging in some crappy behavior, running up the stairs when she knew Eddie would have trouble following, acting like she is already preparing for being a single parent talking to their shrink and looking annoyed at the idea that Eddie would still be around, its just a bad look. And I have always been Team Katherine. If Katherine does want to push it, she does have a good case, not only are both she and her boyfriend both lawyers while Eddie is an out of work musician, Eddie has this recent relapse and from what I understand courts tend to lean towards granting custody towards mothers in general, so if Katherine wanted full custody she would probably get it.

Of course Theo is so dumb he might not even notice what's going on. Seriously, the kid is almost eleven and wanting "cuddles"? By eleven I was writing notes to boys I liked with hearts on the I's, trying to learn new swear words, and if my mom wanted to cuddle I would have been all "I'm not a baby, I'm almost a teenager Mom, geeze!" Why do they insist on writing him like he's two when he's going to practically be in middle school soon? 

This whole episode was exhausting and filled to the brim with exhausting people, but Regina and her mom are just such a pain to witness. Regina's mom is always judging her and criticizing her and has only recently even gotten close to understanding how being biracial has affected Regina, and still doesn't get it. But Regina always goes into every interaction with her mom looking to start eye rolling and arguing, and while I don't blame her for being defensive, sometimes I think she can be a bit too harsh on her mom, like when her mom said slaves and not enslaved people, that's a pretty easy thing for someone not up on the current lingo to say, and while Regina was probably annoyed about both her dumb BLM comment and her showing up in general, that seemed like they could have used more of a "we don't say that anyone more" "instead of fuck you mom" in tone. She is also always so annoyed with her mom that she didn't pick up on the very obvious way her mom was hurt by Regina wanting to hang out with Florence and not her, or when her mom was upset by Regina dismissing the pasta that she was proud of as "just from a box" I knew that there was some story there. And while it was really petty and unfair, I can kind of get her getting a bit jealous of Florence, the perfect fun bungie jumping protest going black mom that she probably wondered if Regina always wanted, out of insecurity or envy. Then of course its hard to get fully on moms side, because she is just so critical and spends so little time thinking of what Regina wants. Ugh, again. Of course it also turns out that Regina probably has brain damage because, again, its this show and everything is all drama all of the time. 

The other theme of the episode? Kids say the darndest things. I don't blame Liam for spilling the beans on the divorce, I blame the adults for talking about it in front of him while not telling him its a secret. Liam actually acts like an older kid, he probably would have kept quiet. I do appreciate him finding the silver lining in the divorce. Double the presents on all major holidays!

Its great that Tyrell wants to be involved, but that doesn't mean he can slip school, not do his work, and lie to his foster parents. His "I didn't take the test because its a white washed history protest!" sounded especially like an excuse, how can it be a protest if no one knows he's protesting and his teacher just thinks he cut class? If he wants a different curriculum, maybe start a petition or talk to teachers? Considering his teacher allowed him to do independent study after blowing his class off a few times he sounds like a reasonable guy. Are we still in the spring? I remember the protests really got going in the summer, when school wouldn't be going on anyway, and are there no protests in the afternoon or on weekends? I don't know the schedule of every protest ever obviously, but I feel like a lot of them tend to be on weekends and the evenings, so that people can still go to work and school, so just go then. failing out of school helps no one. I like Tyrell, but this does seem to be a pattern with him, lying and playing people off each other to get what he wants. That's how they met after all, he stole their orders to try and get Rome and Regina to hire him, which in the real world would get him thrown out of the place, but they find charming. Its good that Rome is helping him find a way to use his passion constructively, but it seems like every time he lies and breaks rules, Rome just rewards him, which is not what a teenager needs. 

I cringed so hard when we found out Danny basically told her ex what happened, even if it was out of good intentions that's a big ouch. I think Maggie needs to talk to both of the kids, and let Danny know more about how to help in the situation. He wants to help but clearly has no idea how to. Not surprising that the creep did the same thing to other girls, he's clearly a predator who has a whole creepy playbook for grooming and abusing his students. Of course one of them killed herself and now Sophie is going to find all of his past victims, because extra extra drama. Also, Maggie should never be allowed to sing. 

Has all of Eddie's chronic pain just gone away now? That's the whole reason he started abusing pills, and now that he isn't using pills, how is he handling his pain? Or is it now gone because that more interesting part of the story is over and we can move into this boring miserable relapse and divorce? If Katherine does get custody of Theo and wont let him see him, between losing his family and relapsing and his pain and disability, I think it will be time to keep Eddie away from sharp objects for awhile. 

[ams1001]

So is Sophie's music teacher going to refer to her as "Dixon" with his next victim? Surely he referred to the former student as "Gregory" so Sophie would think it was a guy and therefore what he was asking her to do wouldn't seem so creepy.

[KaveDweller]

8 hours ago, Madding crowd said:

Eddie has been Theo’s primary caregiver since birth and being in a wheelchair should not affect custody arrangements . Parents who fight for full custody usually restrict and sometimes forbid visits with the other parent and that wouldn’t be fair to Theo or Eddie. And Katherine herself had been engaging in a romantic relationship while still married so she isn’t innocent here . 

The wheelchair should not affect custody no. Being fresh out of rehab might, but just temporarily.  I hope they have Katharine explain her concerns and don't just make her evil and trying to take Theo from Eddie. She was the one who said making sure Theo was okay with all this was the most important thing.

And Eddie's job history shouldn't make an impact either. He was the kids primary caretaker while Katharine was working. Plenty of woman have gotten full custody of their kids despite not working, because they were the ones staying home with them. 

Other thoughts:

A couple episodes ago we were told it was May 25, and since then Sophie has been home for 10 days. So at is sometime in June of 2020. Why exactly is Sophie's friend just finding out about getting into Harvard? Unless things have changed drastically since I was in college, you have to tell the school where you are going sometime in May. The timeline on this is so messed up because they wanted to fit Sophie's audition in with the Covid and George Floyd events, which are real dates.

I really wish Sophie had told that obnoxious music professor that the precious teacher she keeps praising is the one that assaulted her.  I know she probably wasn't ready to, but the woman was really rude about what happened at the audition, and the professor was the one that triggered her by talking about Peter. I am okay with a storyline of Sophie investigating who else he hurt.

Did they explain why Delilah could not have come home with Sophie? 

I am glad Theo found out from Liam and not from overhearing Gary/Darcy like the promo implied. Gary and Darcy talking with Liam in the house was dumb, but not as dumb as if Theo had been there. I don't blame Liam for saying something, but I think if I had heard something like that at age 11, I would have asked my parents about what I heard first. 

[ams1001]

58 minutes ago, KaveDweller said:

A couple episodes ago we were told it was May 25, and since then Sophie has been home for 10 days. So at is sometime in June of 2020. Why exactly is Sophie's friend just finding out about getting into Harvard? Unless things have changed drastically since I was in college, you have to tell the school where you are going sometime in May. The timeline on this is so messed up because they wanted to fit Sophie's audition in with the Covid and George Floyd events, which are real dates.

I'm hoping for a time jump next season to catch up with the present day. I get that they wanted to do this story that is tied to a specific date, but it's kind of annoying trying to figure out where in time they are. 

 

58 minutes ago, KaveDweller said:

Did they explain why Delilah could not have come home with Sophie? 

Is her dad still in the hospital? That's the only reason I can think of.

Has Eddie even once mentioned how he feels about the fact that his daughter is in France for an indefinite period of time? He worries about losing Theo but doesn't seem to care about the time he's missing with his baby daughter, who might not even recognize him when he sees her again. (Not even gonna try to figure out how old she's supposed to be.)

[marceline]

6 hours ago, gonzosgirrl said:

Between that and running up the stairs when she knew Eddie couldn't follow was supremely shitty. The kid was nt on fire ffs. Like I wrote earlier, my immediate reaction to this episode was if they were trying to turn me against her, they did a bang-up job.

That was shady as hell. All she had to do was take a couple of seconds to look at Eddie and say "Let me see if I can get him to come downstairs." Her behavior was awful all through this episode. The funny thing is that I really haven't chosen sides in Katherine v. Eddie and I don't want to because I don't like these kinds of stories but I'm afraid that the show is going to lean into this battle with all the cult members friends having to take a side.

Edited May 21, 2021 by marceline

[Snazzy Daisy]

Liam my man, thank you for making me laugh! 😆 Katherine and Eddie are being dramatic in finding the best possible way to break the news to Theo, treating him like he is made of glass. Liam did it in a “hey I survive, you will too” way, no drama. At this point, I really hope Charlie stays with Delilah so she can be normal like Sophie and Danny. Gary shouldn’t risk his spine (backbone) and his health for the best friend of the year award, it’s not worth it dude! The show is trying to shift all the sympathy to Eddie by making Katherine the bitter soon-to-be ex wife. Can’t wait to see how this storyline will be played out. Eddie will be moving to Delilah’s house in 3, 2, 1.

Gina and Shelly’s story is wash, rinse, repeat, it’s boring. AMLT’s characters seem to vanish over time, so can you please make Florence and Tyrell go away too, soonest possible!

It is interesting to see how Sophie gonna be playing Nancy Drew to expose her music teacher. Hope Danny can play some parts too. Shouldn’t Delilah’s dad be OK by now, it’s been months.

I always wonder how this group of friends survive financially. Someday isn’t doing so well due to the pandemic, yet Delilah can spend months abroad, she has her 3 kids, her 2 cars and a big house to maintain. Gina is also struggling with Someday and Rome is out of job but they manage to take in a teenager. Gary and Darcy spend a lot of time together at Delilah’s house and grocery shopping, what about work? Don’t care about Maggie. Eddie is in a big trouble, does he expect Rome and Gary to support him while going through the divorce?

Finally, Maggie’s singing, it reminds me of the Chipmunks and the Chipettes! Ughhh 🥴

Edited May 22, 2021 by SnazzyDaisy

[marceline]

3 hours ago, ams1001 said:

So is Sophie's music teacher going to refer to her as "Dixon" with his next victim? Surely he referred to the former student as "Gregory" so Sophie would think it was a guy and therefore what he was asking her to do wouldn't seem so creepy.

I wouldn't be surprised if he did. That seems pretty on par for a guy who likes to jack off in front of his female students. That is probably his way of protecting himself while he relives his "victories."

[historylover820]

I was watching a movie last night, so I finally watched tonight.

First, oh yeah, Katherine's not going to give joint custody. She's a lawyer and she definitely wants to punish Eddie. She's crying about breaking her son's heart now? What's going to happen when he's not even able to see his dad?

I knew that Sophie could not have been the only one the bacteria masquerading as a human (thanks, Gary!) assaulted. But how dumb is that dean? A student that the bacteria recommended committed suicide and now another girl that the bacteria recommended came out and said "I was assaulted." What do the two girls have in common?

I echo those that I've read (and I haven't read every post. Will go back up and read in just a second), but I also don't like Gina's mother. I get that she loves Gina, but the passive aggressiveness and the criticisms.

And, yeah, obviously some greater damage to Gina, because why else would this concussion have happened in the first place? Get to wring that out.

But, to be honest, I'm not exactly happy about the painting the police with a broad brush. There are evil racist cops, like Chauvin, who shouldn't be police officers in the first place and should be unleashed on society in the second place, who needs to be locked up in a deep dark hole have the key thrown away and completely forgot about. But most police officers are genuinely trying to help their communities. I guess I'm a proponent of ALL lives matter. 

Last Wednesday, I went to KCPD Appreciation at my church. A 27 year old--kid, really--spoke (I am getting so old). Last year, while on duty, this 27-year-old police officer was shot in the head. The bullet is still in his brain. And all he wants to do is get back to the job he loves and to serve the community and people he loves.

And, yes, I realize I'm a white woman and I don't have to be afraid if I'm pulled over for speeding or something. And I absolutely have not had any of the same experiences as my African-American friends and minister, And I realize that we live in a systemically racist society. But, painting the police with such a broad brush--like painting any group, any profession with such a broad brush--makes me uncomfortable.

Anyway, back to the show! It was an uncomfortable show, but, again, Gary is such a good friend!

(Oh, is it just me or would any one else have loved The Golden Girls' theme being Maggie's theme?)

[CrystalBlue]

Katherine is plotting to get full custody of Theo and run away with Alan.  She can set up shop and be a sole practitioner anywhere in Massachusetts because that's the state in which she's licensed to practice law.  I wonder if part of Katherine's newfound fed up-ness  with Eddie's lying about taking pain killers has to do with the probable inactive sex life they now have.  Cuddles might not be enough.  (Sorry, Theo!)

Katherine won't be able to kick out her unemployed husband and leave him homeless or at the mercies of the AMLT crew.  The court can order spousal support.  Eddie can (and should) get his own attorney to represent him.

I can't wait for Nancy Drew Dixon to bring Bad Peter down!  Very sad to know that Gregory was a girl named Layla and she killed herself because of him!

Gina has a brain tumor all brought on by her protest injury.  Oh, the drama continues.

[circumvent]

On 5/20/2021 at 4:00 AM, Brian Cronin said:

He's not very good at this stuff

That's the key part. 

 

20 hours ago, ams1001 said:

The fact that he's unemployed and just out of rehab would be a better argument for Katherine to make.

I don't really care one way or another because Theo is such a annoying character, I would love to have some time off from him. But they are parents, so I don't think it applies. If they go for a custody battle, I would hope that at least they make it a little more original and move away from patriarchy, making Eddie ask for alimony since he will be a stay at home dad which would be better for such a fragile kid like Theo. It would give some sparkle to this otherwise meh show

 

15 hours ago, lala2 said:

He is unemployed, potentially homeless, and recently out of rehab. He's not in the best position - right now - to share custody but once he gets on his feet, that will be another story. They could do a very loose agreement where they both have joint physical and legal custody of Theo w/no details on who has him when, etc. 

Which brings another option that the show will probably ignore - but that is happening more and more based on how many people I know are doing this: they do get a divorce but make arrangements for Eddie to stay in the house, being with Theo while Katherine works - she is also just starting her practice. Eddie was already working out of the garage, he could keep doing this as a job. To me, that's the more realistic thing because the opton would be to have Eddie go live with friends and this is a tried solution as well

 

13 hours ago, ams1001 said:

Maggie can get her own place again and he can stay at Gary's.

Stairs

 

12 hours ago, ams1001 said:

Has Eddie even once mentioned how he feels about the fact that his daughter is in France for an indefinite period of time? He worries about losing Theo but doesn't seem to care about the time he's missing with his baby daughter, who might not even recognize him when he sees her again. (Not even gonna try to figure out how old she's supposed to be.)

I was thinking the same thing. It would not be so hard for the writers to insert a mention of Charlie here and there. Or maybe they are also trying to figure out how old she is, thinking that they can bring her back as an adult who will be her dad's roommate. 

 

I think Maggie singing was supposed to be awful so Sophie would step in. The thing is, I don't think Sophie has any special musical talent - maybe playing the guitar, but I don't play anything so cannot qualify her talent there. But singing, no. Doesn't impress me.

[Guest]

I am so sick of the obvious Target commercials written in the show over and over. I know it's a minor thing, but it's still annoying. 

I would blame Katherine if she tried to keep Theo and Eddie apart, but I don't see anything wrong with her wanting full custody.  Eddie is unstable and hasn't been sober for long. 

[gonzosgirrl]

42 minutes ago, deaja said:

I am so sick of the obvious Target commercials written in the show over and over. I know it's a minor thing, but it's still annoying.

I literally *snorted* when he hoisted those two GIANT Target bags up onto the counter. OMG.

[Guest]

7 minutes ago, gonzosgirrl said:

I literally *snorted* when he hoisted those two GIANT Target bags up onto the counter. OMG.

Seemed "slightly" more realistic than when Gary opined on the convenience of Target's Drive Up service using the app.  

[ams1001]

2 hours ago, circumvent said:

Which brings another option that the show will probably ignore - but that is happening more and more based on how many people I know are doing this: they do get a divorce but make arrangements for Eddie to stay in the house, being with Theo while Katherine works - she is also just starting her practice. Eddie was already working out of the garage, he could keep doing this as a job. To me, that's the more realistic thing because the opton would be to have Eddie go live with friends and this is a tried solution as well

I was thinking that, too. Maybe they could convert the garage to an apartment or something. Or is there a bedroom for him on the first floor? 

2 hours ago, circumvent said:

I think Maggie singing was supposed to be awful so Sophie would step in. The thing is, I don't think Sophie has any special musical talent - maybe playing the guitar, but I don't play anything so cannot qualify her talent there. But singing, no. Doesn't impress me.

I'm no expert but I'm not hearing anything in Sophie's music that sounds like it would get her into an elite music school. One of my college roommates was a music major so I went to plenty of recitals and other music department events. It was just a small liberal arts school and the music students there seemed like they were at a higher level than what we've seen from this character.

26 minutes ago, deaja said:

I am so sick of the obvious Target commercials written in the show over and over. I know it's a minor thing, but it's still annoying. 

I actually didn't catch any this time! But I was looking away from the screen a lot...

27 minutes ago, deaja said:

I would blame Katherine if she tried to keep Theo and Eddie apart, but I don't see anything wrong with her wanting full custody.  Eddie is unstable and hasn't been sober for long. 

Yeah, they set it up to make us think the worst; hopefully next week she actually articulates a reasonable argument and equitable arrangement for custody and/or visitation. Especially after they both agreed that their priority was protecting Theo. I don't want to see them getting caught up in a big battle with Theo in the middle (not least because I don't want to see Theo's angst over the matter).

[circumvent]

16 minutes ago, ams1001 said:

Yeah, they set it up to make us think the worst; hopefully next week she actually articulates a reasonable argument and equitable arrangement for custody and/or visitation. Especially after they both agreed that their priority was protecting Theo. I don't want to see them getting caught up in a big battle with Theo in the middle (not least because I don't want to see Theo's angst over the matter).

It would also be contradictory to her insistence on talking to a therapist to make sure they do the best for Theo as they end the marriage. Worse than the break up, it would be a fighting that is usually, mostly, about ego

[Brian Cronin]

18 minutes ago, ams1001 said:

Yeah, they set it up to make us think the worst; hopefully next week she actually articulates a reasonable argument and equitable arrangement for custody and/or visitation. Especially after they both agreed that their priority was protecting Theo. I don't want to see them getting caught up in a big battle with Theo in the middle (not least because I don't want to see Theo's angst over the matter).

Can you imagine them asking Tristan Byon to pull off some real emotion? We might see the little dude's head explode. So yes, please avoid that, show!

[Suzn]

4 hours ago, circumvent said:

I think Maggie singing was supposed to be awful so Sophie would step in. The thing is, I don't think Sophie has any special musical talent - maybe playing the guitar, but I don't play anything so cannot qualify her talent there. But singing, no. Doesn't impress me.

 

55 minutes ago, ams1001 said:

I'm no expert but I'm not hearing anything in Sophie's music that sounds like it would get her into an elite music school. One of my college roommates was a music major so I went to plenty of recitals and other music department events. It was just a small liberal arts school and the music students there seemed like they were at a higher level than what we've seen from this character.

 

Other than being better than Maggie's caterwauling, I don't hear anything impressive in Sophie's music.  The idea that she could make it professionally is very far fetched.

[CarpeFelis]

On 5/20/2021 at 7:10 AM, Madding crowd said:

Eddie has been Theo’s primary caregiver since birth and being in a wheelchair should not affect custody arrangements . Parents who fight for full custody usually restrict and sometimes forbid visits with the other parent and that wouldn’t be fair to Theo or Eddie. And Katherine herself had been engaging in a romantic relationship while still married so she isn’t innocent here . 

It’s not the wheelchair, it’s the very short-term (so far) recovery from addiction. There’s a reason people in recovery are advised not to get into new relationships for at least a year, and by the same token Eddie is not really stable enough just yet. What if he relapsed, got high and burned the house down or was passed out and unresponsive when Theo had an emergency or even just needed to be picked up from somewhere? I was annoyed but not surprised that he was making a big deal of Katherine’s comment because he really should know better than to think he’s ready.

Maggie, please leave the jingle singing to Sophie or make it instrumental. Unless you want people to tune out before the advice giving starts…

I just can’t with Regina’s mom. Regina’s had to put up with enough of her guilt tripping and pushiness by now to know that if she’s turning down plans with Mom, she shouldn’t give out any details. Because it was completely obvious to me (as it should have been to Regina!) that Mom would be jealous and barge in uninvited and unannounced to ruin it. Mom is so tone deaf it’s sickening. When she made the comment later about when Regina was 6 in French braids, she may as well have been screaming “I want you to be exactly like ME ME MEEEEEEE!”

Dirty lens confession: Regina’s mom reminds me of my own in a lot of ways. We didn’t have the race difference, but my mom was very controlling, pushy, and guilt-trippy. She wanted a clone, not a daughter (but said clone must also remain subordinate to her forever. Even when I graduated from high school she was still referring to me as “little”—my little this, my little that. She even steamrolled her way into writing a long sappy poem on the first page OF MY YEARBOOK despite my repeated protests that yearbooks are not for parents to write in. Bless whoever invented Wite-Out). This finally became apparent to me when I went away to college and started thinking for myself… she REALLY did not like that. I put her on an information diet from then on.

Edited May 21, 2021 by CarpeFelis
typo

[Madding crowd]

The answer though is not to take Theo away from his dad who has been his primary caregiver since birth. Eddie is not a long term drug addict, he is in severe pain from being run over by a car. There is no reason to take his son away from him which will hurt Theo and Eddie.

[historylover820]

I agree that Maggie's... um... "singing" was supposed to be deliberately bad in order for Sophie to join in. Sophie even said that the only time she has felt normal since coming back was when she was doing music with Maggie. Giving Sophie a little bit of therapy without Sophie even realizing it.

But, no, I don't hear anything in Sophie's music or songwriting abilities to make her eligible to get into a prestigious music school. She's a decent guitarist, but that's all--only decent. And the songs that she's written--even this podcast theme--doesn't really display any particular brilliance. But, then again, I'm in no means a professional musician. The last time I picked up an instrument was in college. And I absolutely can't sing, even though before Covid, I sang in church choir. So what do I know?

I burst out laughing at the Target commercial because that bag was literally half the frame with Rome. 

I get Tyrell's passion, but cutting classes isn't the answer. I also think that since he's in foster care, both he and his foster parents can get into some trouble if he keeps cutting classes. And I like the idea above of him starting a petition to change the curriculum--I have my master's in History, and I had never heard of Juneteenth until last year, which is tragic. But cutting classes is so not the answer. And it's not fair to the other kids for Tyrell to get this cool special research project and for them to be stuck taking class through Zoom. Maybe there are other students in his class who would also like to participate in these protests. Do they get a special research project?

Finally, obviously, my knee-jerk reaction was that Katherine is punishing Eddie. And I still think so. But, yeah, he probably wouldn't be legally qualified at this time for joint custody since he just got out of rehab. Maybe show that he can stay sober for 6 months to a year. But, Katherine running up the stairs because poor baby Theo won't come out of his room, leaving Eddie behind who CAN'T was very sh*tty. And she was acting like Eddie doesn't have a say in anything throughout the whole episode.

And I don't get why this relapse is the last straw, but I get that it is. I personally think cheating and having a baby with another woman would be more of a betrayal than a drug relapse after a serious accident. So, yeah, I feel that she's punishing Eddie--she's been having an emotional affair and almost had a physical affair in the same place that Eddie had his affair. But, she thinks she's a martyr and put upon, so, yeah, I see her using all the legal workings that she can come up with in order to punish him.  

[cardigirl]

1 hour ago, CarpeFelis said:

I just can’t with Regina’s mom. Regina’s had to put up with enough of her guilt tripping and pushiness by now to know that if she’s turning down plans with Mom, she shouldn’t give out any details. Because it was completely obvious to me (as it should have been to Regina!) that Mom would be jealous and barge in uninvited and unannounced to ruin it. Mom is so tone deaf it’s sickening. When she made the comment later about when Regina was 6 in French braids, she may as well have been screaming “I want you to be exactly like ME ME MEEEEEEE!”

Dirty lens confession: Regina’s mom reminds me of my own in a lot of ways. We didn’t have the race difference, but my mom was very controlling, pushy, and guilt-trippy. She wanted a clone, not a daughter (but said clone must also remain subordinate to her forever. Even when I graduated from high school she was still referring to me as “little”—my little this, my little that. She even steamrolled her way into writing a long sappy poem on the first page OF MY YEARBOOK despite my repeated protests that yearbooks are not for parents to write in. Bless whoever invented Wite-Out). This finally became apparent to me when I went away to college and started thinking for myself… she REALLY did not like that. I put her on an information diet from then on.

See, I had more sympathy for Regina's mom than most. Yes, she's not the easiest woman, but, it was so clear to me that she wished she could be closer to Regina and that she was struggling to figure out how. Completely going about it incorrectly, but wanting it desperately. My daughter and I are not close. We do not have an easy relationship. I don't know why. It's been that way since she was old enough to choose her daddy over me for most things.  Some kids just favor one parent over the other.  She still is much closer to him than me.  They are very similar in temperament and thinking and I think that's why, but it saddens me so much that I'm not the one she turns to for any advice or even just to chat or talk or joke about anything. I've learned to give her her space and let her come to me, but she so rarely comes to me, it's agonizing. 

And, no, I never did any of the things you mention your mother did, or even Regina's mom seems to do. I don't describe people by the worst thing they have ever done. 😄 But I could tell that Regina really resists her mother and her mother wishes they could be closer and since that's my situation I felt for her a little.