S03.E07: candy asses

[PrincessPurrsALot]

TBD

Original air date 2022.06.05

[cpcathy]

Just, wow. Amazing episode.

[Irlandesa]

That was just surreal.  It's hard to tell what was real and what wasn't. 

 

[Blakeston]

Now this is the Sally I recognize from the first two seasons!

[thuganomics85]

So, I'm guessing Barry is hallucinating all of the people that he killed or something.  Including Chris and even Goran of all people.  But I didn't spot Moss herself.  I wonder if we'll see her next week?  Confused over the guy that saved him and took him to the hospital.  It sounds like he was the father of one of his victims, but I'm confused over how he found him.  Did Sharon let him know what was going on and he took it upon himself to save him for some reason?

Well, it we're to assume everything on screen is actually happening, Sally just went nuclear on everyone and I don't see how her career can survive this.  Whatever legit grievances she might have had will be lost over her yelling (and dropping the C-word several times) at someone who use to be her assistant and being filmed while doing so, and then giving the worst kind of non-apology you can possibly give.  Have to imagine at least the big players will want to distance themselves from her.  Granted, Gene's storyline is showing that the industry certainly is willing to re-embrace a previously toxic personality if they can make them some money, but that's only after years and years of being back at the bottom.  Curious to see what's in store for her going forward.

NoHo saw that dart coming, but was too polite to interrupt!

Didn't see Jim Moss simply turning Fuches over to the cops, but it looks like he saw through Gene's story/lies and knows that Barry killed his daughter.  Meanwhile, Fuches uses the opportunity to inform Albert that Barry killed Chris, and he looks like he might be on a war path.  Barry better watch out!  Which might be hard to do since he's currently being wheeled into a hospital!

[Traveller519]

If your show can deliver with your title character barely being in the episode and not delivering a single line (except for some labored breathing), you've built something really cool!

Barry's hallucination on the beach was so well done. As was the MasterClass. Oh and Albert's interrogation of Fuches. How/Why is there only one more episode?!?!?

[aghst]

It was Ryan's father, the guy in the pilot Barry is suppose to kill.  Barry follows him to Gene's acting class.

Ryan was having an affair with Goran's wife so the Chechen mob hired Barry to kill Ryan but in the pilot they kill Ryan before Barry could IIRC.

Yeah how did he track Barry down?  And they don't show it but apparently Ryan's father kills himself rather than kill Barry, who's vulnerable.  And how did the paramedics get to that car so quickly and rescue Barry, who's probably going to be treated for whatever poison?

Also confused on how Just Desserts, about Natalie and her daughter having a cupcake store in Central Park, is Sally's story or life?  Or Sally just jealous that Natalie got her own show?

Janice's father turned out to be a straight by the books cop, took Fuches to police headquarters.  But now he's suspicious of Gene, who's got Master Class and maybe a shot with Annie.

In the interrogation, Albert has seen the crazy side of Barry, arguably saved his life?  Fuches bragging to Albert that he harnessed Barry's homicidal rage implicates him also doesn't it?  Some kind of criminal conspiracy?

Now Albert goes off on his own, armed?  Or would he tell the FBI that there's a contract killer on the loose and ask for backup?

So Albert and maybe Janice's father have to die so that Barry remains free?  Or are they planning to wrap everything up by season 4?

[PinkRibbons]

17 minutes ago, aghst said:

Yeah how did he track Barry down?  And they don't show it but apparently Ryan's father kills himself rather than kill Barry, who's vulnerable.  And how did the paramedics get to that car so quickly and rescue Barry, who's probably going to be treated for whatever poison?

I was wondering that myself, like does Barry have GPS on him or something? Probably Ryan's dad was following him - I wonder what he thought on that motorcycle chase!

The paramedics thing is actually shown: Ryan's father is a doctor and he drove Barry almost directly to the ER. He pulled forward a little past it to figure out what he was going to do with Barry and/or himself. I think he may have even driven the car back to the front of the hospital before shooting himself - more a doctor than a killer in the end. Gunshots are loud af, all it took was one person inside the ER hearing it and running over to the car. Maybe the car was even in an ambulance zone, which no ER would allow for long.

23 minutes ago, aghst said:

Also confused on how Just Desserts, about Natalie and her daughter having a cupcake store in Central Park, is Sally's story or life?  Or Sally just jealous that Natalie got her own show?

It's not Sally's story at all. It's Natalie paying attention at the meeting when Joplin was canceled and crafting something "watchable". The only similarity is the mother/daughter thing, and that's hardly a unique premise. (Not to mention it wasn't actually part of Sally's personal story, the "theft" of which seems to have her feeling righteous about attacking Natalie.) I loved D'Arcy Carden on The Good Place, and I spent the whole elevator scene wishing she could Janet herself out of the situation. I LOVED that she recorded Sally on her phone. Natalie's always been portrayed as slightly dim and very much a pushover, so it was nice to see that she was underestimated in more ways than one.

I would love to see the how/why the video ended up on what looked like a Hollywood tabloid site. Natalie had ever reason to get the recording to prove harassment if she felt Sally posed a serious danger to her physically. But maybe she also wanted to get back at Sally for say, stealing her role as Lady MacBeth...

[Vella]

35 minutes ago, aghst said:

Also confused on how Just Desserts, about Natalie and her daughter having a cupcake store in Central Park, is Sally's story or life?  Or Sally just jealous that Natalie got her own show?

It's not, and yet, Natalie didn't just brainstorm that show either. She took the failure of Joplin and simply plugged in elements that would make the taste clusters happy. Keeping the kernel of the mother/daughter concept but making the setting more appealing (Joplin for NYC) and turning it from a gripping, down to earth drama about real family issues into a silly comedy full of wacky hijinks and canned laughter in a cute cupcake shop. Which is fine, except for Sally, Joplin was HER LIFE, it was about her, her identity and self-worth. She spoke so many times about how much the show meant to her and how much was based on her real life. And Natalie KNOWS THIS. That's why Sally is so infuriated. That Sally's own life story is not valued or recognized as having any worth, it has to be put through a grinder and turned into a happy, vacuous, empty thing that might actually be successful.

[aghst]

1 hour ago, Vella said:

It's not, and yet, Natalie didn't just brainstorm that show either. She took the failure of Joplin and simply plugged in elements that would make the taste clusters happy. Keeping the kernel of the mother/daughter concept but making the setting more appealing (Joplin for NYC) and turning it from a gripping, down to earth drama about real family issues into a silly comedy full of wacky hijinks and canned laughter in a cute cupcake shop. Which is fine, except for Sally, Joplin was HER LIFE, it was about her, her identity and self-worth. She spoke so many times about how much the show meant to her and how much was based on her real life. And Natalie KNOWS THIS. That's why Sally is so infuriated. That Sally's own life story is not valued or recognized as having any worth, it has to be put through a grinder and turned into a happy, vacuous, empty thing that might actually be successful.

Hader said in the Prestige TV podcast that the takeaway for the scene was Sally describing Natalie's show as a math equation.

He said in the previous episode where Joplin is canceled, Natalie is furiously taking notes on her phone in that meeting where Banshe executive explains their algorithm or explains why Joplin is canceled.

[Eyes High]

2 hours ago, Vella said:

It's not, and yet, Natalie didn't just brainstorm that show either. She took the failure of Joplin and simply plugged in elements that would make the taste clusters happy. Keeping the kernel of the mother/daughter concept but making the setting more appealing (Joplin for NYC) and turning it from a gripping, down to earth drama about real family issues into a silly comedy full of wacky hijinks and canned laughter in a cute cupcake shop. Which is fine, except for Sally, Joplin was HER LIFE, it was about her, her identity and self-worth. She spoke so many times about how much the show meant to her and how much was based on her real life. And Natalie KNOWS THIS. That's why Sally is so infuriated. That Sally's own life story is not valued or recognized as having any worth, it has to be put through a grinder and turned into a happy, vacuous, empty thing that might actually be successful.

Not only that, but the show hit the specific items mentioned by the BanShe executives: desserts, Central Park (I assume, being set in New York), and even Dev Patel (as the article about Sally’s meltdown stated that Dev Patel was costarring in Just Desserts).

Sarah Goldberg was so great in this episode.

Edited June 6, 2022 by Eyes High

[arc]

I liked Barry's hallucination of the transition-to-the-afterlife. But I think it shows something deeply broken in Barry that he could smile and wave at Chris. Some people he killed in self-defense, sort of, and most he did as just hits, but Chris was unequivocally a murder. (He murdered Chris to protect his lifestyle, not his life.)

Gene's master class looks dire. Was he always this terrible an actor? I've always enjoyed how shallow his classes and students were, but I thought he himself was good at acting, even if he didn't apply a very considered or educated process to his classes.

Wow, the wheel of life sure has turned for Natalie! TBH while I get that Sally feels betrayed that Natalie got a show, I don't see how a mother and daughter running a cupcake store is that similar to Joplin. And her "apology" was wretched. Her downfall from creator-showrunner-star to staff writer to unemployable was even more abrupt than her rise. (side note: why do we usually say a rise is "meteoric"? Wouldn't that word be more apt for falls?)

I'm disappointed in the show for throwing a cliched yellow color grade on the Bolivia scenes. Fun that Hank got a blow dart to the neck. He seems ill-suited to organized crime. I wonder how he even survived in Chechnya.

That push-in on Gene to his sweaty forehead was really something.

4 hours ago, thuganomics85 said:

Confused over the guy that saved him and took him to the hospital.  It sounds like he was the father of one of his victims, but I'm confused over how he found him. 

That's Ryan Madison's dad. Part of Fuches' panther army. Maybe he was working with Sharon? Otherwise I can't figure out how in all of LA he would know to come to that back alley dumpster.

1 hour ago, aghst said:

He said in the previous episode where Joplin is canceled, Natalie is furiously taking notes on her phone in that meeting where Banshe executive explains their algorithm or explains why Joplin is canceled.

It really would have helped Sally if BanShe had given key points to hacking the algorithm before cancelling her show instead of after.

[aghst]

It’s ridiculous that Gene would get a show.  He’s not known to the public.

If they say he taught some famous actors, that might be one thing but he was teaching a lot of aspiring actors who may never get roles.

In general most viewers aren’t watching a show about acting.  Maybe if some famous actors guest starred on each episode and talked about some of the work they’re famous for.

When they finally release it it might last about as long as Joplin.  Then maybe Gene will have his come to Jesus moment about Barry, again.

Annie doesn’t know what she’s doing yet she’s going to fail upwards and get other gigs?

maybe the point is Hollywood doesn’t know what it’s doing.

May mean Just Desserts will also fail.

[arc]

6 hours ago, thuganomics85 said:

Have to imagine at least the big players will want to distance themselves from her.  Granted, Gene's storyline is showing that the industry certainly is willing to re-embrace a previously toxic personality if they can make them some money, but that's only after years and years of being back at the bottom.  Curious to see what's in store for her going forward.

So maybe Sally will open up an acting school!

If/when Barry gets busted, it’s going to destroy Gene’s comeback. (Annie might escape unscathed if she can line up another directing gig before it blows up the show, and in any case her comeback isn’t powered by Barry’s narrative.) But Barry getting revealed might give Sally the notoriety to come back, fictionalizing her life again, but this time as the unwitting girlfriend of a hit man.

[cardigirl]

8 hours ago, Blakeston said:

Now this is the Sally I recognize from the first two seasons!

I don't think she was ever that out of control before, she was always pretty subtle in her undermining and use of others. Much like Natalie was behaving toward her own assistant. 

4 hours ago, aghst said:

Hader said in the Prestige TV podcast that the takeaway for the scene was Sally describing Natalie's show as a math equation.

He said in the previous episode where Joplin is canceled, Natalie is furiously taking notes on her phone in that meeting where Banshe executive explains their algorithm or explains why Joplin is canceled.

"Sally’s vicious, unhinged rant, complete with smacking the wall right next to Natalie’s face, is a perfect copy of Barry’s explosion at Sally in episode two of this season."  From a review you can find here.  My thoughts exactly when that scene unfolded. 

Very effective episode, without Barry saying one word.  

Edited June 6, 2022 by cardigirl

[Irlandesa]

Part of the reason I felt the episode was surreal is that not only does Sally go from nothing to show runner but her assistant does as well. 

However, Just Desserts isn't even close to Joplin.  I think Sally's outburst alluded to people like that who had an idea/premise and then someone somewhere else also does that premise (even though, again, very different).  And if they think that person had reason to know of the original premise, they "stole" it from the original creator. 

But as we saw with Joplin and its more successful counterpart, people come up with the same ideas all the time.  A premise isn't enough for theft.  Execution is what matters. 

4 hours ago, arc said:

It really would have helped Sally if BanShe had given key points to hacking the algorithm before cancelling her show instead of after.

I don't think Sally would have wanted them.  Besides, BanShe may have wanted to experiment to see what was accepted by audiences.  The show's failure is just one more data point.

[iMonrey]

I thought this was kind of a hard episode to follow, and I'm not a fan of the fever dream gimmick. I wonder if Paula Newsome was unavailable for a cameo alongside the other victims of Barry. I figured out eventually that the guy driving Barry to the Emergency Room was Ryan's father but I still don't understand how he found Barry or why he took him there.

Also, who was Hank talking to in the adjacent cell? I couldn't make out the dialogue very well, were we supposed to know who that was?

I did enjoy the discussion about Annie's success in making Gene look . . . (insert various adjectives here then say "no"). Tall.

[Blakeston]

2 hours ago, cardigirl said:

I don't think she was ever that out of control before, she was always pretty subtle in her undermining and use of others. Much like Natalie was behaving toward her own assistant. 

Sally was never this unhinged in the past. But in this episode she showed a lot of her trademark characteristics, like her deep sense of entitlement (believing that any story about a mother and daughter belongs to her), and her belief that she's superior to Natalie, and her willingness to be cruel to her.

Plus the narcissism of her non-apology, and how delusional she was in convincing herself that her agent had dishonestly screwed her over - instead of accepting that she screwed herself with her own behavior.

Edited June 6, 2022 by Blakeston

[aghst]

38 minutes ago, iMonrey said:

I thought this was kind of a hard episode to follow, and I'm not a fan of the fever dream gimmick. I wonder if Paula Newsome was unavailable for a cameo alongside the other victims of Barry. I figured out eventually that the guy driving Barry to the Emergency Room was Ryan's father but I still don't understand how he found Barry or why he took him there.

Hader said that Ryan was this douchey guy but the father shows that everyone has someone who loved him.

I guess the father was anguished about Ryan's death but still couldn't kill Barry so he killed himself?  Was he a doctor?

Hader also said it's pretty common for same story ideas to be pitched to various different producers.

[carrps]

3 hours ago, cardigirl said:

"Sally’s vicious, unhinged rant, complete with smacking the wall right next to Natalie’s face, is a perfect copy of Barry’s explosion at Sally in episode two of this season."  From a review you can find here.  My thoughts exactly when that scene unfolded. 

Very effective episode, without Barry saying one word.  

Yeah, this is my take-away from this epsiode. Very effective.

NoHo was talking to a couple of other Chechen guys. The Bolivians snatched them when they crashed the heroine nursery???

[tennisgurl]

That was a great, very strange episode, I am still not totally sure how much even happened. Barry on the beach with several of his former victims and attempted killers was surreal enough, it felt like a dying dream, but even some of the Sally parts felt strange, like when she freaked out at her agent at her house after her not apology, her backing into a dark room made it feel like she was disappearing into a monologue for acting class instead of her actually being there, freaking out. 

Sally really rose and fell like a meteorite, showing up quickly with a splash than quickly burning out. I am glad that other people caught how much Sally's freak out at Natalie mirrored Barry screaming at her, I honestly thought for a second she was going to smack her. The show that Natalie is working on seems quite different from Joplin, but I can imagine her looking at those notes Sally got about why her show was being dropped and noting what did and didn't work. The algorism liked the mother/daughter, so keep that, but it didn't like the Joplin setting so they moved to the "cooler" New York, they didn't like the dark tone, so she went with cute and funny, and Sally just about lost it at seeing her very personal story stripped down to become focus group safe by someone who was her friend. Personally, I don't know if Natalie's show will do very well either, it sounds like a generic sitcom that might last a season or two with middling ratings that will be quietly cancelled after its season season wraps, but that would make it last longer than Joplin at least. Sally has really started going off the deep end, she is burning bridges faster than Gene did back in the day, and her not at all an apology certainly did not help things. 

Of course Fuches needs to brag about driving his cousin to suicide. I was surprised that Janice's father took him right to the cops, but I guess I shouldn't, he's career military and his daughter was a cop, he would hopefully be smart enough not to run off half cocked to deliver vigilante justice like the rest of the bumbling randos who have been coming after Barry. I am not sure how Ryan's dad found Barry, unless the whole panther army is part of some weird murder group chat, but I thought his speech was great. His son who was killed in the pilot was sort of an annoying dick who's death was played for dark laughs and happened so that we could kick off the plot, but I like that they showed that even people like that have people who love them, it retroactively humanizes him, which makes what Barry has done even worse. It seems like he decided that he just needed to talk to Barry, say his piece, but he could never kill someone, so he took his own life after driving Barry to the hospital. 

Oh Hank, of course he's the kind of gangster who wont interrupt someone shooting them with a dart because it would be impolite. 

[aghst]

That’s the other thing, Hank going to Bolivia is suicidal.

Elena already was looking for Hank and he goes to her?

Unless he’s more scared of the Chechens coming to LA after the shootout.

Kind of a scary situation so how much comedy are they going to get out of him being drugged and locked up?i

If he manages to escape with Cristobal, that would be some Breaking Bad level of survival.

But when Fring goes down to take on the cartel, he kills a lot of them because they will just chase them back to the US.

Well we see Elena will fly in a private jet to LA and bring more paramilitary soldiers for a big shootout.

So what is Hank going to do, kill Elena and soldiers so she won’t come back after them?

[sistermagpie]

13 hours ago, PinkRibbons said:

It's not Sally's story at all. It's Natalie paying attention at the meeting when Joplin was canceled and crafting something "watchable". The only similarity is the mother/daughter thing, and that's hardly a unique premise. (Not to mention it wasn't actually part of Sally's personal story, the "theft" of which seems to have her feeling righteous about attacking Natalie.) I loved D'Arcy Carden on The Good Place, and I spent the whole elevator scene wishing she could Janet herself out of the situation. I LOVED that she recorded Sally on her phone. Natalie's always been portrayed as slightly dim and very much a pushover, so it was nice to see that she was underestimated in more ways than one.

I would love to see the how/why the video ended up on what looked like a Hollywood tabloid site. Natalie had ever reason to get the recording to prove harassment if she felt Sally posed a serious danger to her physically. But maybe she also wanted to get back at Sally for say, stealing her role as Lady MacBeth...

I loved when Sally yelled that Natalie didn't even have a daughter and Natalie pointed out that neither did Sally. LOL.

I was surprised at the tabloid site only because it doesn't seem like either of them are famous enough for anyone to care--but I believe they both just put the videos on there themselves, or sent it to them.

9 hours ago, aghst said:

It’s ridiculous that Gene would get a show.  He’s not known to the public.

I actually bought this--much more than Sally randomly becoming a showrunner and even known as any kind of writer. Gene had a moment because of his role on Laws of Humanity plus the Variety story about him, so they capitalized on that with a show that was very cheap to produce.

4 hours ago, iMonrey said:

I thought this was kind of a hard episode to follow, and I'm not a fan of the fever dream gimmick. I wonder if Paula Newsome was unavailable for a cameo alongside the other victims of Barry. I figured out eventually that the guy driving Barry to the Emergency Room was Ryan's father but I still don't understand how he found Barry or why he took him there.

I think we're just supposed to fill in that his being part of the panther army led him to Barry, but ultimately he was a doctor and not a killer, so he chose to kill himself and save a life instead. He's maybe like the boy in the story who doesn't choose revenge. The true innocent.

I wonder if Sally will take Barry up on his psy ops offer now. LOL.

[aghst]

Also what was that writer's meeting for the Medusas show about?

One of the Medusa's is horny but turns her hookup partner into stone accidentally because the snakes get out from under a hat.

Then the medusa sucks his dick and eats it?  First of all, how would they depict that on a TV show?  Second, he's made of stone, so?

It took Sally to challenge the scenario and another woman writer to say a woman wouldn't act that way.

Seems like Hader and his writers have a pretty dim view of the TV business as it exists today.

The other thing is, first two seasons, Hader and Berg would talk about each episode, their writing decisions and so forth.  This season, Hader is only talking about the episodes in a podcast.  Maybe Berg wasn't as hands-on for season 3 even though he was instrumental in launching the show with Hader?

IIRC, Hader used the early part of the pandemic to write up all of season 3 and maybe parts of season 4.  So maybe it was mostly him involved in the writing of this season but he talks about discussions with other writers.  Maybe he wrote the outline or first drafts of all season 3 episodes and then at a later point, he hashed out a lot of it with the other writers.

While the season has been good, I think it's taken on a more serious or somber tone compared to the first two seasons..  It's still good but it's not the same show that some of us fell in love with.

[heatherchandler]

13 hours ago, aghst said:

He said in the previous episode where Joplin is canceled, Natalie is furiously taking notes on her phone in that meeting where Banshe executive explains their algorithm or explains why Joplin is canceled.

Remember during the "taste clusters" meeting, they mentioned that shows did well (per the algorythm) if someone ate dessert during the fist 5 minutes of the show (or something like that), so of course Natalie sets it in a cupcake shop!

11 hours ago, arc said:

I liked Barry's hallucination of the transition-to-the-afterlife. But I think it shows something deeply broken in Barry that he could smile and wave at Chris. Some people he killed in self-defense, sort of, and most he did as just hits, but Chris was unequivocally a murder. (He murdered Chris to protect his lifestyle, not his life.)

Gene's master class looks dire. Was he always this terrible an actor? I've always enjoyed how shallow his classes and students were, but I thought he himself was good at acting, even if he didn't apply a very considered or educated process to his classes.

That part broke my heart, and then I laughed when Chris looked behind him like, he cannot be waving at me?!

Gene is a terrible actor!

[Dev F]

12 hours ago, iMonrey said:

I did enjoy the discussion about Annie's success in making Gene look . . . (insert various adjectives here then say "no"). Tall.

And then in the subsequent scene between Gene and Papa Moss, the angles on Gene make him look really short.

[MJ Frog]

A lot of good lines as usual, but my favorite is from Janice's dad, in response to his fellow soldiers' praise for talking his interrogator into commiting suicide:

"I thought they were just being nice."

[Soobs]

20 hours ago, aghst said:

Also what was that writer's meeting for the Medusas show about?

One of the Medusa's is horny but turns her hookup partner into stone accidentally because the snakes get out from under a hat.

Then the medusa sucks his dick and eats it?  First of all, how would they depict that on a TV show?  Second, he's made of stone, so?

It took Sally to challenge the scenario and another woman writer to say a woman wouldn't act that way.

Seems like Hader and his writers have a pretty dim view of the TV business as it exists today.

The other thing is, first two seasons, Hader and Berg would talk about each episode, their writing decisions and so forth.  This season, Hader is only talking about the episodes in a podcast.  Maybe Berg wasn't as hands-on for season 3 even though he was instrumental in launching the show with Hader?

IIRC, Hader used the early part of the pandemic to write up all of season 3 and maybe parts of season 4.  So maybe it was mostly him involved in the writing of this season but he talks about discussions with other writers.  Maybe he wrote the outline or first drafts of all season 3 episodes and then at a later point, he hashed out a lot of it with the other writers.

While the season has been good, I think it's taken on a more serious or somber tone compared to the first two seasons..  It's still good but it's not the same show that some of us fell in love with.

The Medusa thing made no sense to me as something on TV unless it's not live action and on Adult Swim or something?

The season has been more cartoonish or less realistic (like the Medusa plot) and also more somber. The change to a more somber tone makes sense to me as Barry has done so many bad things now it's time for him to face the consequences. Personally, with all that's going on with gun violence, I'm having a hard time enjoying shows where gun violence is used to move the plot along. Barry standing on the beach with some of his murder victims was what I hope is the beginning of his journey into accountability.

An art critic once said that all art acts as either cocaine or a vitamin for society but for me the best art does both.

[carrps]

28 minutes ago, Soobs said:

An art critic once said that all art acts as either cocaine or a vitamin for society but for me the best art does both.

With all our new emojis, I had to give you a heart, because I love this post.

[iMonrey]

The voices talking to Hank in the next cell were identified by CC as Akhmal and Yandar. I looked them up and still don't remember them or recognize the actors (the former's picture on imdb is a cartoon monkey!). Strange scene, I'm not sure how the show expected us to understand who Hank was conversing with. Askhmal is supposed to be Hank's "right hand man" but I don't recall any such character. 

[Dev F]

7 hours ago, iMonrey said:

Askhmal is supposed to be Hank's "right hand man" but I don't recall any such character. 

Akhmal is the skinny guy Hank brought along to snipe Barry last season despite that fact that, as he himself insisted, "I don't know how to shoot gun!" He's probably best known for another line in that scene: "If I suck balls, you are king of Suck Balls Mountain!"

He's also the victim of a running gag where he's constantly getting shot in the shoulder—most recently when the Bolivians raid the Chechens' nursery. The Bolivians then throw him into a trunk, from which he calls Hank to report that he's been kidnapped, and we next hear from him in the Bolivian prison.

Edited June 9, 2022 by Dev F

[Cosmocrush]

I didn't see Sally's anger rage at Natalie about literally "taking her show" but more about taking her big break.  Sally went from celebrated showrunner of Joplin to staff writer because of an algorithm.  Natalie cunningly saw her chance and took it but even if she hadn't, Joplin and Sally were still over.   Sally's rage attack was aimed at Natalie but really wasn't about Natalie, except maybe in the way that Sally has always seen her talents as bigger than Natalies.   Natalie, wise to the ways of a cutthroat Hollywood recorded the attack.  

[Milburn Stone]

Question for anyone who knows how TV works.

I was surprised that apparently there's a building somewhere where multiple writers' rooms on multiple shows are going on at the same time behind multiple doors.

I always pictured, like, wherever Modern Family was produced (just to pick a show at random), Steve Levitan rented space somewhere, and had his writers' room in that space along with his own office and those of other key people for shows he was producing.

I never pictured some big office building somewhere that's a literal warren of writers' rooms on all kinds of shows

I guess it makes sense that a Warner Bros. or Paramount will have an office building where all 40 shows it produces are being developed and written. I just never thought of it happening that way. I imagined creative producers wanting their own spaces.

That's why I'm asking anyone who actually knows.

Edited June 11, 2022 by Milburn Stone

[grandmabegum]

It varies from lot to lot. I've worked at pretty much every network and no 2 shows are alike. Basically the show rents from the lot so the lot wants to book their buildings to capacity any way they can. First show I worked on was on Radford, 4 story building with different shows on each floor. Always managed to get stuck on the elevator with  Andy Dick. I worked on Radford again years later and we had a writers' bungalow and a production bungalow. I also worked at WB where the entire building was filled with Chuck Lorre shows which just made sense so he could bounce back and forth. Stages are also random, sometimes they're connected to the office other times they're like a 15 minute walk. Really depends on how many sets there are. And there's the very odd situation where shows are split between lots.That's a pain in the ass when you have to drive during the middle of that  day to get from the office to the stage. In my experience, the show runner tends to want to have some distance between production and writers to avoid the writers being bothered.

ETA: There's also shows that have more than one writers' room. A and B room or story and joke room. This normally happens when you're punching up a script but also need to  write a new script at the same time.

Edited June 11, 2022 by grandmabegum

[Joimiaroxeu]

I guess Hader has decided he's just going to take all the awards. Acting, directing, writing, producing. You name it , his name will be on it. He is amazing.

[paramitch]

Hooray, Natalie's DAY HAS COME. Wow, this episode was like the pin being pulled on the Sally entitlement grenade, and I was here for it. 

I haven't hated Sally as much as most, and have often empathized with her to some degree, although I still find the idea that she got a series deal out of her tiny acting exercise ridiculous (as is the idea that she is now capable of writing a series that would garner a 98% RT rating). I hated watching her be sexually harassed, propositioned, and dismissed, and I also felt for her while she wrestled with her past with Sam (and found that hotel encounter truly tense and scary).

But I've also been waiting for this. Sally's been an oblivious and often cruel narcissist since the moment we met her, and we've seen for three seasons now that she frequently treats others with shocking rudeness and indifference, and NOBODY has suffered more than Natalie at Sally's hands. Every single thing we've seen Natalie want, Sally blithely took it. Natalie brings a guy to a party? Sally walks off with him. Natalie gets cast as Lady M in a class project? Sally takes the part after a meltdown to Gene. Sally becomes a jerk to the group? Natalie tries to respectfully stand up for herself and confront Sally, who dismisses her.

Then Sally becomes a showrunner and Natalie (in what had to be at very strange nightmare/dream scenario) becomes Sally's peon, her runner, object of derision, the person who fetches for her, listens to her rants and diva requests, and who Sally has reminded repeatedly is beneath her. Even so, Natalie was kind and supportive after the failure of JOPLIN, and we don't see any sign that this wasn't genuine.

So yeah, I was CHEERING at this. I cheered when we realized that Natalie was smart enough to take notes in that meeting -- and use them to make a better, savvier show. I cheered when Sally confronted her and Natalie was savvy enough to record it (and hold her tongue, because I sure as shit wouldn't have). And cheered again when Sally absofuckinglutely showed what a complete asshole she is. I mean, this was amazing. Sally burned every single person in her life, including the agent who for some reason has been her most tireless supporter.

Meanwhile, it's interesting that Sally did EXACTLY what she blamed Barry for doing. When she confronted Natalie in the elevator, she was unhinged, pinning Natalie against the wall, SCREAMING in her face (top of her lungs, spittle, obscenities, etc.). And even with her (very ill-advised "apology," Sally couldn't do it. She is incapable of seeing herself, ever, as culpable.

So that was interesting. And all kudos to Sarah Goldberg, who I think has been really superb as Sally throughout the show, and especially here. She was absolutely willing to play it without flinching or trying to make Sally likable -- something she's done all along and that I think is much harder than she's given credit for.

Meanwhile, I loved the almost dreamlike series of events that Barry went through here, that nagging sense that he's searching for a peace and atonement he will never really get. It was so weirdly sweet, and sad, and peaceful.

And it's so interesting that it's like the universe keeps trying to save Fuches, to give him his OWN paradise in these pastoral settings (more goats!), with inexplicably beautiful young women immediately falling in love with him (this irritates me a little, dammit, despite my years-long crush on Stephen Root since "NewsRadio"). And he ignores it, and keeps returning to what will destroy him.

Speaking of destruction, I think we saw the last little speck of Gene's soul evaporate when he told Janice's Dad that Barry was an okay guy. I mean, Janice's death DESTROYED HIM. But give Gene a show, and wow. Who's Janice?

Last but not least, poor sweet Hank, going bravely after his boyfriend and then standing there and getting tranquilized in the neck out of sheer politeness.

On 6/6/2022 at 1:39 PM, sistermagpie said:

I was surprised at the tabloid site only because it doesn't seem like either of them are famous enough for anyone to care--but I believe they both just put the videos on there themselves, or sent it to them.

I actually bought this--much more than Sally randomly becoming a showrunner and even known as any kind of writer. Gene had a moment because of his role on Laws of Humanity plus the Variety story about him, so they capitalized on that with a show that was very cheap to produce.

I'm an entertainment publicist on and off for the past 20+ years (thank goodness less so the past few years -- I'd much rather be editing, LOL), so I bought it.

In today's world of 24 hour news and social media, it's very believable to me that a woman who headlined and ran her own show would get some press over an absolutely unhinged video. Not even a question. I mean, her show was the pseudo-Netflix homepage for a day. She's at least minor news.

And then Sally's reply would have been instant news as well, especially as cringeworthy and tone-deaf as it was.

On 6/10/2022 at 8:07 PM, Milburn Stone said:

Question for anyone who knows how TV works.

I was surprised that apparently there's a building somewhere where multiple writers' rooms on multiple shows are going on at the same time behind multiple doors.

I always pictured, like, wherever Modern Family was produced (just to pick a show at random), Steve Levitan rented space somewhere, and had his writers' room in that space along with his own office and those of other key people for shows he was producing.

I never pictured some big office building somewhere that's a literal warren of writers' rooms on all kinds of shows

I guess it makes sense that a Warner Bros. or Paramount will have an office building where all 40 shows it produces are being developed and written. I just never thought of it happening that way. I imagined creative producers wanting their own spaces.

That's why I'm asking anyone who actually knows.

It's quite common. For instance, I remember reading a lot about the fact that the writer's room for "Community" was evidently right across the hall from the writer's room for "Glee" back in the day, so the two had a kind of constant rivalry (and occasional commiseration) over what they were going through in their respective rooms. It varies depending on the parent production company but I'd say it's more common today than ever, with the plethora of shows produced.

On 6/11/2022 at 3:55 AM, grandmabegum said:

It varies from lot to lot. I've worked at pretty much every network and no 2 shows are alike. Basically the show rents from the lot so the lot wants to book their buildings to capacity any way they can. First show I worked on was on Radford, 4 story building with different shows on each floor. Always managed to get stuck on the elevator with  Andy Dick. I worked on Radford again years later and we had a writers' bungalow and a production bungalow. I also worked at WB where the entire building was filled with Chuck Lorre shows which just made sense so he could bounce back and forth. Stages are also random, sometimes they're connected to the office other times they're like a 15 minute walk. Really depends on how many sets there are. And there's the very odd situation where shows are split between lots.That's a pain in the ass when you have to drive during the middle of that  day to get from the office to the stage. In my experience, the show runner tends to want to have some distance between production and writers to avoid the writers being bothered.

ETA: There's also shows that have more than one writers' room. A and B room or story and joke room. This normally happens when you're punching up a script but also need to  write a new script at the same time.

This was fascinating -- thanks for sharing it, and for confirming my impression of how things worked!

And also, um, look, I loved "NewsRadio" and everything, but I am so sorry about you repeatedly getting stuck in an elevator with Andy Dick. 

[Milburn Stone]

Thank you, @grandmabegum and @paramitch. The extreme (yet not uncommon) example of "multi-story office building that's nothing but writers' rooms on every floor" actually makes economic (if not creative) sense, now that I think of it. It reduces the overhead of each show tremendously. But somehow I imagine it reducing creativity by making the work environment resemble something out of Metropolis, compared to the team spirit fostered by an autonomous space.

But maybe not. My advertising career was at a global agency with--just in the mothership, where I worked--2000 employees, 1000 of whom were us creatives. Yet we did feel team spirit in our own creative group, as did the creatives in all the other creative groups. In some way team spirit was helped by all of us being in the same building. I know every group I was in wanted to be the best group, and *#&^ all the others! In fact, we loved nothing more than another group failing, our group being brought in to save the business, and being heroes. 😄

Edited June 23, 2022 by Milburn Stone

[sistermagpie]

5 hours ago, paramitch said:

In today's world of 24 hour news and social media, it's very believable to me that a woman who headlined and ran her own show would get some press over an absolutely unhinged video. Not even a question. I mean, her show was the pseudo-Netflix homepage for a day. She's at least minor news.

And then Sally's reply would have been instant news as well, especially as cringeworthy and tone-deaf as it was.

Now that you say it, make sense a lot of sense. Even if she wasn't famous at all, that rant probably would have gone somewhat viral (remember that sorority letter that got sent around?) but if she had just been on a show and gotten a little press? Yes, you're right, it would be a big deal. Not because she was famous, but because she was maybe a tiny bit famous and went nuts.

[shapeshifter]

On 6/6/2022 at 6:32 PM, heatherchandler said:

Remember during the "taste clusters" meeting, they mentioned that shows did well (per the algorythm) if someone ate dessert during the fist 5 minutes of the show (or something like that), so of course Natalie sets it in a cupcake shop!

And if Sally hadn't demanded that Natalie cut up her carrots for her, maybe Natalie would've brought Sally on board with Natalie's idea.

So all of the characters who had treated people badly without acknowledging it wound up in a kind of hell this episode due to their inability to foresee that "what goes around, comes around."

[rmontro]

I figured out what's been bothering me about this season, aside from all the over the top situations.  Except for a few of the early episodes, the main characters are no longer interacting, they've all got their own solo stories going on.  I miss Barry interacting with Cousineau, and with Sally.  I miss the acting class.  Fuches can just go ahead and be killed as far as I'm concerned.

When Sally had that blowup against Natalie, I wondered if she might think about using Barry to take some "pictures of her sleeping" or whatever.  Hopefully he doesn't replace her dog with a slightly different one.