S1 E10: Mergers and Propositions

[JayDub1987]

Media Mogul Skyler Samuels arrives in Austin with a proposal for Luke and the future of Monarch; Tripp gives Albie an ultimatum; Nicky is torn when Wade returns to town; Gigi grows suspicious of Kayla and Luke; Ace and Ana go viral when with a performance.

Everybody's favorite hate-watch is back for (reportedly) 2 more episodes. I can't envision a world where we get a season 2, so we should be nearing the finish line. Some earlier reports said 12, but IMDb has 11 listed with the season (presumably series) finale coming next week. We've almost made it, people! 

Edited November 30, 2022 by JayDub1987

[JayDub1987]

Live reaction time. 

• "America's Sweetheart" by Elle King 2015. Kicking this one off with a new song by Monarch standards.
• Holy crap, they acknowledged that it was a cover! That's the first time I recall them acknowledging that they're singing other peoples' songs.
• Gigi and Kayla have the chemistry of toothpaste and butter milk. I'm not sure they could've tried and found two people who obviously have no connection and made them a married couple. 
• Ace is playing one electric guitar, but there's clearly two heard in the song, along with drums and a bass. That's pretty impressive for one musician. 
• If anybody has any info on "What We Got" that Ace and Ana performed, feel free to throw it out there. I can't find anything on it outside of it being performed on Monarch.
• Nicky considers herself "undeniable," but they've been denying her a tour for 9 episodes and 20 minutes. 
• Well...they had been denying it until the 21st minute of episode 10. 
• At this point, Trace's attempts to show emotion are all funny. I can't keep a straight face, and I'm not sure how anyone on the set could, either. 
• "Ghosted by every producer in country music." Apparently, there are only 4 of those, now. 
• Uh oh! We have stress-induced labor pain. Soap opera trope #17583925 is alive and well, people!
• Jealous new boyfriend gets mad that middle-aged girlfriend is cozying up to ex. That's #17583926, I think. If you have these on your soap-trope BINGO card, you're closing in on a victory. 
• Sister/wife suspects wife and brother have been doing the ole' horizontal hokey pokey. #17583927. 
• Performing with Albie is going to cause Nicky not to throw her vote into the merger, thus destroying her own chance at a tour, right?
• I can't find anything on that song that Albie and Nicky performed together. It's called "A Life I Can Live By." Maybe they did an original? I know they brought in some talented songwriters for episode 9. 
• Ok, they swerved me. Wasn't really expecting Nicky to vote that way. 
• I thought that they had employed the services of every bad actor they could find, then they went and found Ana's date for the album debut party. 
• Ok, the cliff hanger on this one wasn't as bad as some others. I'm actually looking forward to seeing what happens in the finale. Will it be done well? Probably not. But it'll be cool to see what it is IMO. 

That's all, folks! One more episode to go. 

[HighQueenEB]

Hey @JayDub1987, you forgot that soap-opera trope #17583928 was hinted at in the promo for next week with producer Jamie "not being who I say I am" - because what soap opera is complete without a cop/LEO having an unbelievable cover as a well-known, talented titan of "pick the industry that will get you an in with your target"?  🤣

And, I just died at that breakup scene between Nicky & Jamie.  Was that scene written by a lovesick, suffering-through-my-first-big-breakup-betrayal fifteen year old?

Edited November 30, 2022 by HighQueenEB

[JayDub1987]

6 hours ago, HighQueenEB said:

Hey @JayDub1987, you forgot that soap-opera trope #17583928 was hinted at in the promo for next week with producer Jamie "not being who I say I am" - because what soap opera is complete without a cop/LEO having an unbelievable cover as a well-known, talented titan of "pick the industry that will get you an in with your target"?  🤣

And, I just died at that breakup scene between Nicky & Jamie.  Was that scene written by a lovesick, suffering-through-my-first-big-breakup-betrayal fifteen year old?

Nice catch. I did miss the next trope. I think I was too caught off guard when they teased that Jamie's character might actually have a hint of depth lol

[Retired at last]

I guess I must have bern half-asleep watching the other episodes, but I was awake last night. WOW are these actors bad!!!! And, I totally agree that there is zero chemistry between Gigi and her wife. Awful. why does Nicky think she "cannot be denied" when her whole career is as second fiddle to her mother and she has never really been a success, so she has been denied her whole life?

And a minor soap-opera troupe that was in there - Ana's date was a sleaze, causing Ace to be jealous and come to her rescue (which she didn't need). In my watching while near sleeping, is her mother still in the picture? 

I wonder how many of these stories they will wrap up next week or if they are hoping there will be enough cliffhangers for a second season. We've got:

• Will Gigi find out the baby is Luke's (and not by insemination)?
• Will Albie go to jail for killing Clive or will he find a way out?
• DID Albie kill Clive?
• What will happen with Ace and Ana?
• Who is Jamie?
• With the arrest of some Roman, will they lose the offer to buy out Monarch?
• Will we see Dottie again?
• Will Gigi burn it all to the ground?
• Is there a producer Luke didn't scare off and will Gigi get HER big contract?
• Will Nicky be denied?
• Do we care about any of these?????

Thanks for all your summaries, @JayDub1987!

[JayDub1987]

24 minutes ago, Retired at last said:

I guess I must have bern half-asleep watching the other episodes, but I was awake last night. WOW are these actors bad!!!! And, I totally agree that there is zero chemistry between Gigi and her wife. Awful. why does Nicky think she "cannot be denied" when her whole career is as second fiddle to her mother and she has never really been a success, so she has been denied her whole life?

And a minor soap-opera troupe that was in there - Ana's date was a sleaze, causing Ace to be jealous and come to her rescue (which she didn't need). In my watching while near sleeping, is her mother still in the picture? 

I wonder how many of these stories they will wrap up next week or if they are hoping there will be enough cliffhangers for a second season. We've got:

• Will Gigi find out the baby is Luke's (and not by insemination)? Yes
• Will Albie go to jail for killing Clive or will he find a way out? Way Out
• DID Albie kill Clive? No. Clive is still alive somewhere on an island that looks exactly like Austin. Wait..that's DOOL, isn't it?
• What will happen with Ace and Ana? I will get a snack or use the bathroom when they come on screen, so I won't know.
• Who is Jamie? A mole who Albie will probably kill if the show lasts that long.
• With the arrest of some Roman, will they lose the offer to buy out Monarch? Solid guess. They need something to prevent the sale.
• Will we see Dottie again? Probably. I just hope their aren't holographic butterflies flying out of her head next time.
• Will Gigi burn it all to the ground? No. She will pout about something and get distracted
• Is there a producer Luke didn't scare off and will Gigi get HER big contract? Since I can name more than 4 country music producers, I will say that somehow this show manages to concoct a 5th person.
• Will Nicky be denied? No! She is undeniable...except for all of those deniables.
• Do we care about any of these????? No! But this show has turned into my favorite trainwreck, and I can't divert my eyes.

Thanks for all your summaries, @JayDub1987!

Thank you for pointing out the other stereotypical stuff that I missed. I struggle so hard to care anything about Ace and Ana that I missed that one too. When they appear, it's an automatic potty break. 

I had fun answering your cliffhanger questions! Probably enjoyed that more than episode 10. 

[HighQueenEB]

8 hours ago, JayDub1987 said:

Thank you for pointing out the other stereotypical stuff that I missed. I struggle so hard to care anything about Ace and Ana that I missed that one too. When they appear, it's an automatic potty break. 

I had fun answering your cliffhanger questions! Probably enjoyed that more than episode 10. 

Literally fast-forward through all things Ace & Ana here!  We also, though, missed out on the additional trope of Ace deciding "screw my promises" and kissing Ana.  Are there teenage girls at home watching this crap and swooning?  

Not to be ageist since Nicky's probably only a few years younger than me, but isn't she well past the age of making it big in the music industry without going the Susan Boyle route?

[JayDub1987]

14 hours ago, HighQueenEB said:

Not to be ageist since Nicky's probably only a few years younger than me, but isn't she well past the age of making it big in the music industry without going the Susan Boyle route?

Yes, yes she is. IRL, Anna Friel is 46. I'm sure they want us to think the character is somewhat younger than that, but she is too old to finally get her big break. It's not that 46 is "old," but if you've never headlined a stadium tour, you're not going to just get one after you've been in the industry for as long as Nicky apparently has. 

[gaPeach]

18 hours ago, HighQueenEB said:

Literally fast-forward through all things Ace & Ana here!  We also, though, missed out on the additional trope of Ace deciding "screw my promises" and kissing Ana.  Are there teenage girls at home watching this crap and swooning?  

So, keeping your promise, regardless of who you made promise to, (apparently making a promise to your mother since she is a Roman doesn't count?) is bad but breaking it makes him, what? edgy?  Cool? Don't care about either one of these teens.

Jamie did act like a jilted 15 yr old but he did make good points.  I would have expected her to have called Jamie for advice.  Not an old flame. 

And why has Jamie not made it somewhat on her own even being in her mother's shadow?  And how is it Gigi is the new hot performer considering she did not perform before now?  And I agree she has ZERO chemistry with her wife.

[JDAlexander]

Quote

On 11/29/2022 at 9:01 PM, JayDub1987 said:

If anybody has any info on "What We Got" that Ace and Ana performed, feel free to throw it out there. I can't find anything on it outside of it being performed on Monarch.

All of the Monarch songs are on iTunes.  Please don't ask me how I know.  

[Lethallyfab]

On 11/29/2022 at 9:01 PM, JayDub1987 said:

Ace is playing one electric guitar, but there's clearly two heard in the song, along with drums and a bass. That's pretty impressive for one musician. 

Ugh, this annoyed me when they did it with Albie’s song a few episodes back.  Ironically, I think that Ace’s Tik Tok or whatever would have been much more effective had it been a single guitar and vocals.  Then again, this show has never met a song that it couldn’t overproduce to death.  Don’t get me started on the whole “and then a crowd appeared out of nowhere and they literally started clapping!” cliché.  

Also, fun fact, Luke, Gigi still knows that you’re the father of the baby, she just thinks it’s via IVF.  It wouldn’t be unheard of to be “oh, we had a health scare, I’m so worried about the baby!” rather than being sus and causing GiGi to be sus.

Also, I’ll be mean and say it — if your parents are both GIGANTIC STARS in country music and yet both Nicki & GiGi are *still* struggling to get their big break well into their 40s, maybe the problem lies with them.  Eva Amurri still gets work on this show so don’t pretend like nepotism doesn’t get you well past the starting line.

I’m always happy to see Marcia Cross, especially because she knows soaps, she gets soaps and knows how to act in a soap.