S03.E10: Opening Night

[Bill1978]

3 minutes ago, Frost said:

I sure hope Loretta doesn't bail on the play after one performance!  She should stay for at least a couple of months.  The scene between her and Dickie during the play was so touching.  I got a little teary.

I admit for a moment, I thought they were going to have a moment of misunderstanding and Dickie was going to kiss her - in a parallel moment of Donna/Cliff.  So thankful that didn't happen,

[sistermagpie]

17 hours ago, Irlandesa said:

I'm happy we got to see Paul Rudd and Meryl Streep singing together although I'm confused about the resolution to that mystery.  Did the nanny do it?

 

From what everyone was saying I think we could all see the actual play and be confused about the resolution to the mystery. But I loved that there were dancing sea creatures.

6 hours ago, paigow said:

Sazz decided to look for wine in total darkness?

ETA: Mabel thought Charles went to get the wine, so Sazz did not make a public declaration.

I don't remember the exact dialogue, but Charles and Oliver knew she went to get it. So it was probably just Charles saying he had wine and then Sazz went to get it. No need for anybody to know besides the people right there.

Matthew Broderick is right, though. Charles nailed the way a Nova Scotian constable would run. Not so sure about the shiny outfit, though.

[Ohiopirate02]

Rewatching the episode at a more reasonable hour, Baby Cliff has got to be the biggest newborn baby to ever be on TV.  

[Quilt Fairy]

22 minutes ago, sistermagpie said:

Matthew Broderick is right, though. Charles nailed the way a Nova Scotian constable would run. Not so sure about the shiny outfit, though.

Please, it was sequins!  Gotta love musical theater. 

[shapeshifter]

Just now, Ohiopirate02 said:

Rewatching the episode at a more reasonable hour, Baby Cliff has got to be the biggest newborn baby to ever be on TV.  

Right!?!
That big (8-month old?) baby had to be shown at length (pun?) on purpose to make fun of all obviously not-newborn babies on film being posed as newborn, right?

[JenE4]

So we’re never going to find out which of the Pickwick triplets did it?!? I had my eye on Paco Pickwick. Maybe next year when they go to LA and make “Death Rattle Dazzle: The Movie.” 😉

I kept waiting for there to be another twist we didn’t see coming since when we found out last week that Donna killed for Cliff, that it was obvious he pushed Ben to his death to protect her… But he didn’t really? Ben was mean and it was just an accident? That’s a really weak “motive” and kind of took the oomph out of it. But, okay. It was at least solvable. And yet instead of feeling smug for figuring it out, I feel a little disappointed that they went from ridiculously convoluted to too easy. There should have been one more twist. Though maybe Cliff being “tough” and NOT the mama’s boy WAS the twist…but then he went right to killing himself rather than letting his mom go to jail or turning himself in. Actually, I guess they’re showing us the character development that Cliff would have the “killer instinct” to do what it takes as a producer on his own without Mommy, so I think I’ve come full circle on it. Yet, the whole hanging from the rafters kind of took that away from him, too.

We did have a couple of fun “twists” with Oliver getting up on stage, swooping the role away from Harold. And of course Sazz “as Charles” getting shot. For sure they’ll make a trip to LA next season to follow the clues to Sazz’s last set and visit the love interests. In addition to both Loretta and Tobert out there, I’m assuming Joy’s there with Scott Bakula, who will no doubt be forced to appear on this show whether or not he had any intention of doing so. They just locked down Streep and Rudd and Broderick and Brooks this year to lure in the ultimate guest appearance: Bakula!

Oh, for those who didn’t get the mermen joke about falling to his death, that was a callback to Oliver having disastrously staged “Splash!” on Broadway, and instead one of his stars went “Splat!” What are the odds that he’s had 2–nearly 3–splats?

Edited October 4, 2023 by JenE4

[Ohiopirate02]

4 minutes ago, shapeshifter said:

Right!?!
That big (8-month old?) baby had to be shown at length (pun?) on purpose to make fun of all obviously not-newborn babies on film being posed as newborn, right?

It had to be some kind of joke.  I also have to laugh at Donna not breaking a sweat during the delivery of said 8 month old.  

[shapeshifter]

14 minutes ago, JenE4 said:

So we’re never going to find out which of the Pickwick triplets did it?!? I had my eye on Paco Pickwick. Maybe next year when they go to LA and make “Death Rattle Dazzle: The Movie.” 😉

That certainly fits with the way they set up the next season, and would be a nice coda on the season 3 mysteries.

[thuganomics85]

My random, "kind of drunk speculation based on a random throwaway reference/gag" for next season's killer: when you feed Hugh Jackman after midnight, he goes into character for whatever role he is currently working on.  And it just so happens he is preparing to play a hitman who is an expert with sniper rifles... 

Kidding, of course!  It's clearly Scott Bakula!

[peeayebee]

2 hours ago, paigow said:

Sazz knows the shooter... she is trying to write a code from an old Brazzos episode.

Are you guessing or did Sazz or Charles talk about writing a code on Brazzos at some time or another during the run of OMITB?

[Haleth]

19 hours ago, thuganomics85 said:

.  Either way, whoever did this wasn't messing around, because that seemed to some from an actual sniper, so someone really, really, really wants Charles (or Sazz) dead!

My money is on Scott Bakula  

10 hours ago, peeayebee said:

Hedda Gobbler. Hee

I want to see this more than Death Rattle Dazzle.

Edited October 4, 2023 by Haleth

[Snazzy Daisy]

The ending was tied up to the theme of a mother protecting her child that’s so prominent throughout the season and also “The Producers” cameos. Nothing related to White Room etc. So that particular episode was totally a filler.

A little bit disappointed though as the 2 big reveals (the killer and Loretta’s confession to Dickie) didn’t feel as impactful as I expected them to be.

I wish we could see Jonathan perform the “Creature of the Night” instead of Oliver. His cabaret scenes were amazing.

I was expecting some twists that never came. Bummer. Apparently the GC/CG tattoos fiasco was just a cosmetic error. Blame the MUA!

The only big twist was Tobert’s innocence. So, they hired Jesse Williams to play a pointless side character that lacks substance and plot development. He’s just there as a coat stand and a love interest who’s now moving away.

Why Mabel joined the cast on stage for the curtain call? She could’ve kept an eye on Donna and Cliff from the side of the stage. Anyway, Howard curtsied, so adorbs! ☺️

A combo of HGH + uppers + micro dose of Viagra is an (unknown) antidote for rat poison. Really?

The person who assassinated Sazz - was he/she the one who dropped the sandbags on Charles at the Gooseberry Theatre? The President McKinley’s name now makes sense.

Uma, Matthew Broderick and Jerry Blau - what an interesting trio. So refreshing. And they had the funniest lines too. OM God, love them! 😂

Quote

“One of you smells.”

“It’s me.”

“It’s him.”

Quote

“Do you think someone will die again?”

“Oliver’s career might die again.”

Quote

“Broadway’s first quadruple threat. Can’t sing, dance, direct or act.”

“You’re a lot of fun.”

Quote

“Is someone in my rafters?”

“Didn’t the constable die, like 3 scenes ago?”

“Yeah, but that is exactly the way a Nova Scotia constable would run.”

Quote

“This is the strangest fucking play I’ve ever seen.”

“I was the original director. My version was stranger.”

“I’m so glad am not in this.”

These are my favorite moments with the OG trio. 😆💕

Charles looked good in blue sequins. And he snorted (instead of Oliver).

Oliver and his unwillingness to subscribe. So relatable!

Mabel didn’t know how to react to that mother/son awkward kiss.

Gonna miss them!

 

Edited October 4, 2023 by Snazzy Daisy

[secnarf]

I didn't love the ending - I think I am disappointed that it was exactly as predicted, because I was expecting a twist. It didn't have to be a big twist, but something would have been nice. I didn't think this season "sang" the way the last two did, though it did have its moments, and the guest stars all did a great job.

I am disappointed we never got a good explanation for how Ben came back to life, or for the discrepancies in the year of Ben's birth (per his memorial) and the year of Loretta's bus ticket. I would also have liked to see Cliff confronting Donna about the poison/telling her that he pushed Ben.

As an aside, in the first scene of the episode I did at least finally realize why every time someone mentions "Donna" (both in the show and online), I automatically think of Meryl Streep. Turns out Mamma Mia's influence is hard to overcome.

I do think they have a great victim for next season in Sazz, and I am looking forward to season 4. This was the only part of the episode that really surprised me, and I loved it.

[DoctorAtomic]

Kudos all around for the right calls. I still will keep and share the feather in my cap for Ben talking to the cookie. 

I was pleased to see that the show did have a good opening night. 

It sounded to me at first that they were going to be a possible series ender, but I guess not!

[Snapdragon]

19 hours ago, Irlandesa said:

 

I'm happy we got to see Paul Rudd and Meryl Streep singing together although I'm confused about the resolution to that mystery.  Did the nanny do it?

 

 

No, in the final scene of the play, the nanny says something along the lines of, "So you're the killer" to the detective (Paul Rudd/Martin Short's role) and he answers with, "Yes, but I'm also the father."  So I'm assuming that the mother left him and moved to the lighthouse (possibly because he was nuts and she was trying to protect her babies) and he found her and killed her, then either pretended to be a detective or actually is one, and used that as a cover to try and get his kids and apparently killed the constable in the process.  The nanny figured it out and pushed him to his death, thus saving the triplets.  

I liked this season the best overall.  The murder wasn't that hard to figure out (and a bit of a trope) but at least everything was logical, thought out and there were no loose ends.  With seasons 1 & 2, I feel that it's really more the atmosphere and the dialogue that are enjoyable whereas the actual mysteries make no sense and are very all over the place.  

I knew the second they showed "Charles" in the dark apartment it was really Sazz.  I'm with @paigow in that Sazz used her dying breath to spell something out in blood which the trio will of course misinterpret until the last episode (possibly second to last) of next season.

I do wish that the elevator killer had been Tobert instead of Cliff, just because both mother and son going to jail (as one of them dies from cancer), is just really sad.  I was holding out hope that Mabel would discover footage on Tobert's camera of the fall, proving that he'd been there secretly watching from behind a cracked door or something, but no such luck.

I hope Mabel gets an actual job next season because 30, aimless and unemployed is not a good look.

[Zanzibar]

2 hours ago, JenE4 said:

Oh, for those who didn’t get the mermen joke about falling to his death, that was a callback to Oliver having disastrously staged “Splash!” on Broadway, and instead one of his stars went “Splat!” What are the odds that he’s had 2–nearly 3–splats?

It wasn't just one person, it was 12 mermen who dove, one after another, down onto the stage (and none of them died).

[Blakeston]

On 10/3/2023 at 3:29 PM, Quilt Fairy said:

Except according to an earlier poster (who spoiler-barred it here), someone posted it on Reddit.   And that's a little too specific to just call it random speculation. 

To be fair, back when the Sazz character was first introduced someone here predicted that she'd be a future victim. Their thinking being that her looking just like Charles makes it an easy setup.

I wasn't crazy about this resolution. I despise the "they only meant to shove them, not kili them" resolution that so many mysteries resort to. (There were so many damned episodes of Cold Case that ended that way ::grumble::.) I've never found those resolutions particularly satisfying. And they've already done it on this show, wiith Mabel's friend dying the same way!

Speaking of unsatisfying - that was a terrible cliffhanger last week. "Oh my God, Donna's in the courtroom!" They never even bothered to follow up on it.

I'm glad the season had a lot of charms apart from the mystery - like the theater setting, and Meryl Streep and Paul Rudd, and cameos from people like Mel Brooks and Matthew Broderick.

Edited October 9, 2023 by Blakeston

[tkc]

17 hours ago, cardigirl said:

@tennisgurlI thought it was mermen. 🤪

So did Lt. Hurwitz…

 

[Bill1978]

So I just listened to the songs from this episode on Spotify, and have a quick question: Have they mislabelled the 2 versions of 'For The Sake Of A Child'?

To my ears it's Martin Short singing on the one labelled Ben's Version and Paul Rudd performing on the one labelled Oliver's Version. Anyone thinking that or do I need to go and get my hearing checked?

Either way, the song clearly identifies the killer as The Detective. Seems I was too caught up in all the drama and the staging of the number and missed that moment during last night's viewing.

[shapeshifter]

9 hours ago, Snazzy Daisy said:

So, they hired Jesse Williams to play a pointless side character that lacks substance and plot development. He’s just there as a coat stand and a love interest who’s now moving away

Heh. Yeah. “Coat stand.” 
Having the anticlimactic reveal (that Jesse Williams was just a coat rack after all)  is a bit of a kudo to Jesse Williams in that it’s an acknowledgment that he is an important enough actor and a hot enough actor to work as a red herring on an Elite TV streaming series that is already chock full of celebs.

 

9 hours ago, Snazzy Daisy said:

The person who assassinated Sazz - was he/she the one who dropped the sandbags on Charles at the Gooseberry Theatre?

I thought KT admitted to dropping the sandbags next to Charles just scare him.

 

9 hours ago, Snazzy Daisy said:

Uma, Matthew Broderick and Jerry Blau - what an interesting trio. So refreshing. And they had the funniest lines too.

Uma, Matthew Broderick and Jerry Blau = the real triplets.
And in comedy lingo, they certainly did “kill.”

Edited October 4, 2023 by shapeshifter

[jsm1125]

Whatever happened to Nina from season 2? The one who took over as the building’s president and wanted to make all of those changes to the Arconia? 

[xander874]

I am probably one of 5 people who don't really care for the Sazz character so am not looking forward to more of her next season (in flashback). But, I do think it will be a good mystery as it is personal to them.

I am so happy Uma got an episode about her this season because I could watch Jackie Hoffman read a phone book. Her commentary at the play was magical. She's so good. 

It was weird with all the job offers for Loretta. I imagine she would have a contract with the musical to stay for a while. But maybe with the producers in jail and her romancing the director, it's not a concern. They should want to keep her though, since she seemed like the best part of the show.

Overall, as a Broadway geek, I enjoyed the season and the mystery. The show is uneven at times and veers off on random tangents (the whole concierge doctor thing kinda went nowhere except to get Oliver on stage) but a good season overall. 

Edited October 4, 2023 by xander874

[Snazzy Daisy]

1 hour ago, shapeshifter said:

I thought KT admitted to dropping the sandbags next to Charles just scare him.

She did that? In which episode/part? Why would she want to scare Charles? 😳

[peeayebee]

11 hours ago, Snazzy Daisy said:

Nothing related to White Room etc. So that particular episode was totally a filler.

I wasn't a fan of the White Room stuff, but I see it has having two purposes. One was to give Steve Martin comedic bits to work with. And the other was to set up the satisfaction for us to finally see him really nail that patter in the Sitzprobe episode.

Quote

I was expecting some twists that never came. Bummer. Apparently the GC/CG tattoos fiasco was just a cosmetic error. Blame the MUA!

Please remind me about the tattoos.

Quote

The only big twist was Tobert’s innocence. So, they hired Jesse Williams to play a pointless side character that lacks substance and plot development. He’s just there as a coat stand and a love interest who’s now moving away.

I think the only pleasure I got out of his character and the actor was seeing him revealed as a coat rack. That was pretty funny.

Quote

A combo of HGH + uppers + micro dose of Viagra is an (unknown) antidote for rat poison.

Good to know. *taking notes*

 

Quote

The person who assassinated Sazz - was he/she the one who dropped the sandbags on Charles at the Gooseberry Theatre?

I thought it was Jerry who did this.

 

10 hours ago, Snapdragon said:

The murder wasn't that hard to figure out (and a bit of a trope) but at least everything was logical, thought out and there were no loose ends. 

One loose end is where Mabel is going to live.

[Snazzy Daisy]

30 minutes ago, peeayebee said:

Please remind me about the tattoos.

There were discrepancies re Ben’s finger tattoos that led to the Twins Theory. In some scenes, he had GC (Girl Cop) tattoos. In another scene, he had CG tattoos.

In the recent sewing scene, the tattoos weren’t that visible anymore.

I posted some pics in the “Only Speculation” thread (page 7). Take a look.

 

31 minutes ago, peeayebee said:

I think the only pleasure I got out of his character and the actor was seeing him revealed as a coat rack. That was pretty funny.

I was expecting Dickie or Tobert to mention something about Ben-related footages, will they go forward with the documentary etc. despite what happened.

 

51 minutes ago, peeayebee said:

I thought it was Jerry who did this.

I remember him admitted to Oliver about dressing like Gideon (and also the mysterious Dr. C) to scare Howard. None about the sandbags. Did I miss something? 🤨

[Milburn Stone]

I enjoyed this episode more than any this season except the first couple.

I even liked Selena. Why, I could swear, if I'm not mistaken, that I actually saw a human emotion flicker across her face for an instant.

[cardigirl]

27 minutes ago, Milburn Stone said:

I enjoyed this episode more than any this season except the first couple.

I even liked Selena. Why, I could swear, if I'm not mistaken, that I actually saw a human emotion flicker across her face for an instant.

I agree, the first two episodes were great! The second one was stellar.  

[DoctorAtomic]

12 hours ago, Snapdragon said:

I'm with @paigow in that Sazz used her dying breath to spell something out in blood which the trio will of course misinterpret until the last episode (possibly second to last) of next season.

I think it was an episode number of Brazzos. 

[iMonrey]

I enjoyed this season more than either of the first two but the resolution to the mystery felt pretty flimsy. It just didn't seem realistic that Donna would go to the extreme of poisoning, and possibly killing Ben just because she saw a bad review. If she's this Tony-winning experienced producer then she knows how to step in and replace an actor that isn't working.

The resolution also sort of belies the title of the show, "Murders." Nobody was actually murdered.

I'm also disappointed Tobert wasn't involved somehow because I thought the season really wasted Jesse Williams.

All that said, the musical was fun and the story was more interesting than Tim Kono's or Bunny's, thanks in part to Paul Rudd and Meryl Streep. That helped the show a lot.

[KerleyQ]

4 hours ago, xander874 said:

It was weird with all the job offers for Loretta. I imagine she would have a contract with the musical to stay for a while. But maybe with the producers in jail and her romancing the director, it's not a concern. They should want to keep her though, since she seemed like the best part of the show.

I thought Dickie told her that "they're willing to wait for you," meaning she could finish the musical. 

[shapeshifter]

54 minutes ago, iMonrey said:

the resolution to the mystery felt pretty flimsy. It just didn't seem realistic that Donna would go to the extreme of poisoning, and possibly killing Ben just because she saw a bad review

Ben also had zero respect for Cliff. 

[Ohiopirate02]

2 minutes ago, shapeshifter said:

Ben also had zero respect for Cliff. 

Yeah, Ben's repeated use of "boy" is what set Cliff off and not Ben's threats to call the police for what Donna did.  

[Megras]

1 hour ago, iMonrey said:

 If she's this Tony-winning experienced producer then she knows how to step in and replace an actor that isn't working.

 

But it wasn't her show. It was Cliff's first big show, and how would it look if Mummy-dearest stepped in to save the day somewhat publicly. He'd never produce again.

[sistermagpie]

15 hours ago, Snazzy Daisy said:

A combo of HGH + uppers + micro dose of Viagra is an (unknown) antidote for rat poison. Really?

 

I don't think it was meant to be an antidote. I assumed it meant that the uppers kept his heart from stopping or something so he had time to get to the hospital.

15 hours ago, secnarf said:

I am disappointed we never got a good explanation for how Ben came back to life, or for the discrepancies in the year of Ben's birth (per his memorial) and the year of Loretta's bus ticket. I would also have liked to see Cliff confronting Donna about the poison/telling her that he pushed Ben.

As I understood it, he came back to life the normal way of someone who came very close to death. He hadn't really died when he passed out, and if his heart stopped they were able to revive him. She wasn't trying to kill him to begin with, so it was supposed to be that he hadn't ingested that much, and his body was already working overtime thanks to the cocktail.

To me the biggest problem is that I'm sure rat poison must have a terrible taste to keep people from ingesting it, and even a Schmackery cookie couldn't disguise it.

For the bus ticket I'm just sticking to my original story. There's no names on bus tickets and Ben wound up in NYC himself by the time he was eight, so his family probably made the same move. Sad irony that Ben got the career Loretta was trying to get for herself.

[shapeshifter]

26 minutes ago, sistermagpie said:

To me the biggest problem is that I'm sure rat poison must have a terrible taste to keep people from ingesting it, and even a Schmackery cookie couldn't disguise it.

The rat poison boxes looked pretty old — like possibly from the 1950s.

[sistermagpie]

4 minutes ago, shapeshifter said:

The rat poison boxes looked pretty old — like possibly from the 1950s.

I just did a little search and it seems I'm wrong anyway. Rat poison maybe tastes sweet or grainy to attract rats. That's why dogs love to eat it too--or fucking pigs like Ben (or me, probably).

[peeayebee]

3 hours ago, Snazzy Daisy said:

There were discrepancies re Ben’s finger tattoos that led to the Twins Theory. In some scenes, he had GC (Girl Cop) tattoos. In another scene, he had CG tattoos.

In the recent sewing scene, the tattoos weren’t that visible anymore.I posted some pics in the “Only Speculation” thread (page 7). Take a look.

Thanks. I never ventured in that thread before. So, in hindsight, the tattoos were a continuity error, as you speculated.

Quote

I remember him admitted to Oliver about dressing like Gideon (and also the mysterious Dr. C) to scare Howard. None about the sandbags. Did I miss something? 🤨 

I just doublechecked... Jerry says to Oliver, "I heard him [Howard] ranting about
Gideon Goosebury, and I thought if I could pretend to be him, offer a few frights, drop a few sandbags, it might scare you all off." 

[secnarf]

1 hour ago, sistermagpie said:

I don't think it was meant to be an antidote. I assumed it meant that the uppers kept his heart from stopping or something so he had time to get to the hospital.

As I understood it, he came back to life the normal way of someone who came very close to death. He hadn't really died when he passed out, and if his heart stopped they were able to revive him. She wasn't trying to kill him to begin with, so it was supposed to be that he hadn't ingested that much, and his body was already working overtime thanks to the cocktail.

They made a point of saying that Ben was "declared" already at the theatre. They wouldn't have even still been working on him after he was declared dead. And then he says his heart had stopped for an hour or whatever ridiculous length of time.

As it was completely unnecessary to the plot to have him "die" the first time - sending him to hospital barely alive would have accomplished the same goal - I'm even more disappointed that there isn't a good explanation for this.

[shapeshifter]

10 minutes ago, secnarf said:

They made a point of saying that Ben was "declared" already at the theatre. They wouldn't have even still been working on him after he was declared dead. And then he says his heart had stopped for an hour or whatever ridiculous length of time.

As it was completely unnecessary to the plot to have him "die" the first time - sending him to hospital barely alive would have accomplished the same goal - I'm even more disappointed that there isn't a good explanation for this.

I just assumed it was Ben trying to make his experience more likely to generate online buzz by embellishing it. Plus, Ben was a bit crazy (perhaps from the uppers and other drugs) so he might have believed his own lies/exaggerations.

Plus, Dickie was used to cleaning up Ben's "messes," so Dickie might have fantabulitized Ben's first collapse story a bit too, perhaps in an effort to distract from any real-but-sordid drug taking.

It never bothered me. It just seemed like a TMZ speculation of the event.

 

4 hours ago, Snazzy Daisy said:

There were discrepancies re Ben’s finger tattoos that led to the Twins Theory. In some scenes, he had GC (Girl Cop) tattoos. In another scene, he had CG tattoos.

In the recent sewing scene, the tattoos weren’t that visible anymore.I posted some pics in the “Only Speculation” thread (page 7). Take a look.

26 minutes ago, peeayebee said:

Thanks. I never ventured in that thread before. So, in hindsight, the tattoos were a continuity error, as you speculated.

I didn't pay attention to the tattoo discrepancies either but they could have been fake tattoos that Ben applied to make him seem hip, and, if so, the discrepancies would just prove that.

 

[Snazzy Daisy]

44 minutes ago, peeayebee said:

I just doublechecked... Jerry says to Oliver, "I heard him [Howard] ranting about Gideon Goosebury, and I thought if I could pretend to be him, offer a few frights, drop a few sandbags, it might scare you all off." 

Now I wonder who locked Charles in the prop closet.

And what did Sazz mean by "chatter of people wishing him dead"? People from the industry?

[Frost]

3 hours ago, Snazzy Daisy said:

And what did Sazz mean by "chatter of people wishing him dead"? People from the industry?

Did the mysterious activities of Charles' father really get explained in the first season?  Besides the torrid romance, wasn't he kind of shady?

[SourK]

This is the first season I watched in real time, and I kind of wish I hadn't tried so hard to guess? Not that it wasn't fun -- just, I think I would have been less underwhelmed by this if I seen it all back to back and hadn't spent so long trying to think of a twist between episodes.

And Tobert really was there for no reason. Bless.

On 10/3/2023 at 1:25 AM, thuganomics85 said:

Poor Howard.  He was totally trying to pitch himself as Jonathan's replacement, but Oliver just put himself on stage instead.  Then again, who doesn't want to watch Martin Short belt out some Broadway-style lyrics?!

On the one hand, it was funny and in-character for Oliver hear all of Howard's hinting and still not be able to think of anyone but himself (in every sense). On the other hand, I genuinely felt bad for Howard.

On 10/3/2023 at 1:10 PM, peeayebee said:

I just rewatched this bit. Right after Charles reads the text, they cut to the darkened apartment. Then after the shooting Charles says, "What's taking her so long?," that she better not be drinking that special Malbec. So it looks like in the unseen time betw the text and Sazz going into the apartment, Sazz said she would go get the wine. Charles never left to get it. 

I was confused by that sequence. Not in the way they wanted me to be -- just in a way where it felt clumsy. If Sazz said she wanted to talk to Charles, and Charles said he was going to get the wine, there are lots of ways to edit what happened after so that we think Charles is in the apartment alone, and then it's not him without retroactively making it so Sazz got the wine instead. Like, for example, maybe Charles goes to get the wine and, unbeknownst to us, he gets waylaid somewhere and Sazz gets to the apartment first, trying to talk to him.

Having them suddenly say, "Never mind, someone else went to get the wine," just felt like a weird way to do it.

On 10/3/2023 at 1:45 PM, slowpoked said:

By the way, where does Mabel live now?

I'm wondering about that, too. I mean, call me selfish and stressed out by the housing crisis but, when Tobert said he was leaving town, I was like, "What happens to his apartment, though?"

(I jest -- I know it gets turned into an Airbnb).

22 hours ago, JenE4 said:

I kept waiting for there to be another twist we didn’t see coming since when we found out last week that Donna killed for Cliff, that it was obvious he pushed Ben to his death to protect her… But he didn’t really? Ben was mean and it was just an accident? That’s a really weak “motive” and kind of took the oomph out of it.

I have mixed feelings about it. I liked Jan the cold-blooded serial killer in season one, but I also liked what's-his-name who accidentally pushed that girl -- and I thought it was a nice balance to have both.

There was part of me that was pleased that Cliff wasn't a cold-blooded killer, and that it just happened in the heat of the moment, because I think that's more interesting. And it's easier for me to buy than believing that he was secretly a psychopath the whole time or something.

At the same time, there's a tonal issue where it's more of a downer when the murders seem more realistic. So I'm conflicted.

[kay1864]

On 10/3/2023 at 10:21 AM, peeayebee said:

Bugs me when people walk into a dark house or apartment and don't turn on a light.

Yep, I was just coming here to say “only on TV or in movies do people do that” 😡

Even more so when it’s not their own place.

On 10/3/2023 at 11:30 AM, tennisgurl said:

I can see a twist where they knew exactly who they were killing, especially about Sazz said that she had something she wanted to talk to Charles about.

And… so the killer ran across the street and shot out of an upper floor window? 😳

[Affogato]

26 minutes ago, SourK said:

 

And Tobert really was there for no reason. Bless.

Maybe there will be a short trip to LA. They mentioned  it enough. TOBERT would be Mabel's reason to go.

[Snazzy Daisy]

1 hour ago, Frost said:

Did the mysterious activities of Charles' father really get explained in the first season?  Besides the torrid romance, wasn't he kind of shady?

It’s in S02. They redeemed his father’s character with the reveal of a painting inside a painting that was hidden under Mama G’s cage.

The painting - a depiction of Charles as a child with his father. Charles found out his dad actually had great pride in his son, and wanted to become someone Charles could remember fondly. This has helped him to work on/resolve his childhood trauma.

[kay1864]

Oh! I recognized the joke that Oliver was telling.

Guy crashes and wakes up two days later in hospital, in traction, his jaw wired shut.

His wife is visiting. The nurse asks her what might make him more comfortable.

“Well, he really really likes coffee.”

“Hmm. I’m afraid that might be a choking hazard.”

”Is there any other way? I’m sure he misses his coffee.”

“Well we could give it to him as an enema…”

They set up an enema and start feeding him.

“Oooo ooo ooo!”

“Too hot?”

“No, too sweet!”

[sistermagpie]

1 hour ago, kay1864 said:

Yep, I was just coming here to say “only on TV or in movies do people do that” 😡

 

Unless the don't know where the light switch is. But in that case they're usually looking for the light switch.

[KaveDweller]

8 hours ago, KerleyQ said:

I thought Dickie told her that "they're willing to wait for you," meaning she could finish the musical. 

That didn't really make sense to me though....musicals can run for months, sometimes years. Why would a Grey's Anatomy spin off be willing to wait that long for some unknown?

[SomeTameGazelle]

On 10/3/2023 at 1:45 PM, slowpoked said:

By the way, where does Mabel live now?

At one point she said she was staying with Theo Dimas.

[sadiegirl1999]

15 hours ago, xander874 said:

I am probably one of 5 people who don't really care for the Sazz character so am not looking forward to more of her next season (in flashback).

 

🙋🏼‍♀️Number 6 here. I think it comes from hating her character in Marvelous Mrs Maisel transferring to this show.