S02.E15: Tattoo/Khaal

[DanaK]

Quote

When Riley realizes how much he cares for Holly, he tries to impress her with a giant romantic gesture. Also, Vanessa tries to talk Hazel out of getting a drastic haircut, on the CBS Original series UNITED STATES OF AL, at a special time on Thursday, March 3 (9:30-10:00 PM, ET/PT) on the CBS Television Network, and available to stream live and on demand on Paramount+

 

[Grizzly]

Art is into Whitesnake? Didn't see that coming. 

[Annber03]

9 minutes ago, Grizzly said:

Art is into Whitesnake? Didn't see that coming. 

I can see it. And now I want to hear more about that - he may not have become a roadie, but it sounds like the start of a string of interesting stories about that time in his life in general :D. 

I am one hundred percent with Lizzie on Riley's tattoo. Alongside the "desperate and clingy" part, I've heard that it's always, always risky to tattoo the name of someone you're dating because, well, one day you may not be dating anymore. My sister has tattoos and not once has she ever tattooed the name of any guy she's been in a relationship with, for that very reason. 

I did love Al's suggestion for trying to turn "Holly" into "Hazel", though :D. That was really cute, and would've been a good solution to the problem had Riley decided to try and "fix" the tattoo. In some ways, I'm a bit surprised Al was so enthusiastic about Riley getting a tattoo, just 'cause I would think he'd be a little more reserved about that sort of thing in general, but at the same time I'm not, because he's also encouraged Riley when he's done other things that Al himself isn't into (like gambling, and even Al got into that for a time). Plus, given Al is prone to big romantic gestures, it makes sense he'd encourage this on that level, too (I really like his villa on the coast idea, I'd be down for that kind of romantic getaway!)

Luckily, at least, Holly rolled with the tattoo, so yay for that. It's interesting to see them getting more and more serious, I like seeing Riley so happy and in love, and he and Holly are good together, so if this does continue to become more of a long-term thing, that'd be cool :). 

As for Hazel, aw, the whole thing with her hair! At least she can take comfort in knowing she's not the only kid to goof up her hair like that. I like how Vanessa handled that. The shorter hair will take a little getting used to, but it does seem to suit her, given her general personality, so...: I appreciated Lizzie being kind of a middle ground between Hazel and Vanessa on the whole hair debate, too, and doing her part to support her as well. 

[mammaM]

🎶🎶here I go again on my own, going down the only road I've ever known🎶🎶🎶

I think I'm in love with Art😎

[MaryMitch]

Hair grows back; I'm surprised that as a hairdresser Vanessa was so closed minded about it. At her age, Hazel should be able to get the haircut she wants. 

[Sarah 103]

39 minutes ago, MaryMitch said:

Hair grows back; I'm surprised that as a hairdresser Vanessa was so closed minded about it. At her age, Hazel should be able to get the haircut she wants. 

Since she didn't want anything wild or expensive, I would agree with you. Al suggesting tattoos was one of the best parts of the episode. 

[ItCouldBeWorse]

15 hours ago, Annber03 said:

In some ways, I'm a bit surprised Al was so enthusiastic about Riley getting a tattoo, just 'cause I would think he'd be a little more reserved about that sort of thing in general, but at the same time I'm not, because he's also encouraged Riley when he's done other things that Al himself isn't into (like gambling, and even Al got into that for a time). Plus, given Al is prone to big romantic gestures, it makes sense he'd encourage this on that level, too

Islam has a huge taboo against tattoos (as does traditional Judaism), so it makes sense that Al would either find tattoos grotesque, or be fascinated by them on non-Muslims.  And I'm sure he saw plenty of them on Marines.  He lives vicariously through Riley in many areas that he considers forbidden to him: drinking, sex, and now, tattoos.

Although I like them on her, as the colors in Lizzie's hair change from episode to episode, I had assumed that she had clip-ins.  So Vanessa strips the old color from them and re-dyes them every week or so?  Very labor intensive and harsh on the dyed parts-they should be like straw by now.

Edited March 4, 2022 by ItCouldBeWorse

[theredhead77]

1 hour ago, ItCouldBeWorse said:

Although I like them on her, as the colors in Lizzie's hair change from episode to episode, I had assumed that she had clip-ins.  So Vanessa strips the old color from them and re-dyes them every week or so?  Very labor intensive and harsh on the dyed parts-they should be like straw by now.

Since we never see Vanessa changing Lizzie's hair, I just roll with "it's just a setting for plot exposition", vs we're actually going to see her do Lizzie's hair.

[Sarah 103]

4 hours ago, ItCouldBeWorse said:

Islam has a huge taboo against tattoos (as does traditional Judaism), so it makes sense that Al would either find tattoos grotesque, or be fascinated by them on non-Muslims.  And I'm sure he saw plenty of them on Marines.  He lives vicariously through Riley in many areas that he considers forbidden to him: drinking, sex, and now, tattoos.

This explanation totally works for me. Al won't do certain things because of his religion, but he never/rarely stops anyone else from doing them, like drinking for example. Al won't drink beer at the bar or at home, but he would never stop Riley or Art from having a beer or something similar.

[tennisgurl]

On 3/4/2022 at 10:48 AM, mammaM said:

🎶🎶here I go again on my own, going down the only road I've ever known🎶🎶🎶

 

Goin' down the only road I've ever known! I want to know more about Art's life, it sounds like he has had some real adventures.