S03.E06: Par for the Course

[peachmangosteen]

Airs May 16th.

Edited May 21 by peachmangosteen

[kitkat343]

I really liked this episode.  I was also really glad that Bob tried to tell her about the job before sleeping with her.  There are times when I like Marty's character, but I really hated when he slept with Deborah and then told her the next morning she was losing her residency at the Palmetto (her response "I'm literally naked here" was comedy gold though).  But it was still a pretty awful thing to do to someone, and even though Bob doesn't get credit for cheating on his wife, at least he was honest with Deborah before they slept together.  

 

I also liked Marty kindly calling out Ava on being so unbelievably exhausting to be around while complimenting her on her positive influence on Deborah.  

I just renewed my Max subscription just to see where the writers and Jean Smart are going with this.  It seems recently there have been some shows I liked that had a lot of potential and  good actors (Reboot and So Help Me Todd) but the writing was so uneven on those shows they really didn't live up to their potential.  This is one of the few shows I've found with stellar writing and acting and I'd really like to see what will happen to these characters.

[ofmd]

Another nice episode, although Ava's date was a bit much for me.

Bummer for Deborah about the talk show. A season of her doing it and Ava being head of her writer's room would have been fun.

When she was seeing a doctor at the beginning of the ep, I worried she might get some bad news; glad it was only her hearing!

The soundtrack of this show is impeccable, I want a playlist of all the tracks they've used!

[aghst]

7 hours ago, ofmd said:

Another nice episode, although Ava's date was a bit much for me.

Christina Hendricks playing a monstrous oil heiress!

The dialogue was terrific, her saying she was going to piss on Ava and Ava saying she wasn't.

First Deborah called out Ava on never having been a working-class person and denying tips to service workers who depended on tips.  That was after Ava chided Deborah for auditioning little people to play elves for her Christmas party invitations and Deborah pointed out that she was paying double scale and a lot of those actors needed the gig.  So Ava agreed to be her caddy and it turned out the oil heiress only wanted to trod on some less-fortunate person.

Ava then talks Deborah down from the regret she feels for sleeping with a married man, commends her for trying to be a better person.  That leads to the ending scene where Kathy, Deb's sister, gets an invitation from one of the elves.

[Blakeston]

J. Smith-Cameron will be great as Kathy, I'm sure. But I feel bad for Linda Purl (who played Kathy in season 1) that they re-cast the role.

I assumed J. Smith-Cameron was a lot younger than Deb is supposed to be, but it turns out she's 66 (only 6 years younger than Jean Smart). I would have guessed she was significantly younger than that.

[sskrill]

Oh I think this might be my favorite episode of the series.

Deb calling Ava out on her treatment of service industry workers.

The old guy hitting on Ava at the table "I like your hips"

Marty jealous about Deb playing dumb "Its for the kids!" as he stomps around. And Debs first swing on day 2 "There she is!" and his big grin at seeing real Deb surface.  I hope they're end game.

Marty and Ava's bar convo "On stolen land?" He was so amused by her.  Their instant bond was sweet.  

"No you weren't!"  "Yes I was!"  "No you werent!" "Yes I was!"

Enjoyed the entire episode.

[chaifan]

Watching episodes 5 and 6 back to back was a little whiplash inducing.  Such a change of tone and pace.

This episode was brilliantly written.  I'm glad we got a little more of Marty than we usually do - his eye rolling at Deborah's feigning being bad at golf, the "there's my girl!" when she dropped the act, his conversation with Ava at the bar, him going down to see Deborah with the martinis, then turning around when seeing her with the other guy.  I'm not sure if I want to see him and Deborah together in the end, but they certainly do seem to be setting that up with him and his new fiancee living in different countries.  

I loved Ava & Marty's bar scene, and her dilemma with doing good.  Her scenes with the oil magnate affiliate were hilarious.  I almost wish Ava went along with the "just a caddy" bit, thinking it was fantasy play, and that they had the fight the morning after, and we would have seen Ava and Deborah doing the walk of shame at the same time.

[LuvMyShows]

Well I much preferred the lost-in-the-woods episode. When I realized that was going to be an episode about just the two of them together in the woods, I was really dreading it, but ended up really enjoying it. With this one, I thought it would be really good, and I ended up disliking a lot of it. 

I have a very hard time believing Debra Vance would have slept with that guy. He got what he wanted with the new host, and it wasn't her. So I just can't see her letting him get something else that he wants, when it happens to be her this time.  I believe it would have been much more like her character to let the guy get all hot and bothered back at the room, and then say something to him in turning him down that paralleled the way he told her that she didn't get the job. He hadn't even given her the courtesy of officially telling her she didn't get the job...she had to hear it from that comedian guy who got the job.

I have never seen Mad Men, so I am not familiar with Christina Hendricks. But it really seemed like she was overacting. Plus seeing Ava's character so subservient at the green and in the room was just cringe-y.

And I just couldn't with Ava's false bravado to those two guys about being a caddy.

[peachmangosteen]

Quote

And I just couldn't with Ava's false bravado to those two guys about being a caddy.

That was maybe my fave scene of the ep personally. Hannah's delivery on 'Balenciaga. It's fashion.' was amazing. I watched it a few times lol.

Which, speaking of, in general I think Hannah has been fantastic this year. I hope she gets an Emmy nom.

[sskrill]

7 hours ago, peachmangosteen said:

Which, speaking of, in general I think Hannah has been fantastic this year. I hope she gets an Emmy nom.

Her interview w Marc Maron leads me to believe Ava and Hannah are like 90% the same person. 

On rare occasions Ava gets on my nerves, but so do a lot of people her age, for the same reasons.

I do think for someone with little experience Hannah has been fantastic in this role.

Edited May 20 by sskrill

[peachmangosteen]

1 hour ago, sskrill said:

Her interview w Marc Maron leads me to believe Ava and Hannah are like 90% the same person. 

I figured lol. I need to look for this interview.

[ofmd]

On 5/20/2024 at 5:59 AM, LuvMyShows said:

Well I much preferred the lost-in-the-woods episode. ...

I have a very hard time believing Debra Vance would have slept with that guy. ...

I have never seen Mad Men, so I am not familiar with Christina Hendricks. But it really seemed like she was overacting. Plus seeing Ava's character so subservient at the green and in the room was just cringe-y.

And I just couldn't with Ava's false bravado to those two guys about being a caddy.

Those things bothered me, too. (The last 2 items were especially cringe for me.)

Furthermore, I'm not as enthusiastic as some posters about Deb getting back with her ex, didn't he cheat on her back in the day? And I do agree this is where they are heading, what with Ava and Deborah's discussion of a relationship. Deb saying she doesn't want one is a guarantee she'll get one in tv land.

I still thought the episode was so well done that I still liked it.

Also, word about dreading the wood episode and ending up liking it.

Edited May 21 by ofmd

[Lois Sandborne]

On 5/20/2024 at 6:22 AM, peachmangosteen said:

Which, speaking of, in general I think Hannah has been fantastic this year. I hope she gets an Emmy nom.

This season is the most I've liked her (the actress and the character) so far. Balenciaga cracked me up, and the look on her face when Christina Hendricks's character confirmed she was a Republican.

[SnapHappy]

I have a soft spot for Marty, and he & Deb both have their flaws.  I can see them as end game.

But I think they can actually be their true, authentic selves with each other. And Ava & Deb are getting to that point. 

I swear, when Deb saw Bob & Jack sitting across from each other in the club, ordering a bottle of champagne, I thought they'd lean towards each other and kiss!  *LOL*

I still think Jean Smart is one of the most beautiful women on TV, and Christina Hendricks is my huge girl crush.  I was sad when she & Geoffrey Arend split.  My fave TV geek.    

Edited May 23 by SnapHappy

[sskrill]

On 5/21/2024 at 5:53 AM, ofmd said:

I'm not as enthusiastic as some posters about Deb getting back with her ex, didn't he cheat on her back in the day? 

11 hours ago, SnapHappy said:

I have a soft spot for Marty, and he & Deb both have their flaws.  I can see them as end game.

But I think they can actually be their true, authentic selves with each other.

I don't remember hearing about him cheating, but I remember Marcus saying that Marty proposed in Monte Carlo but she turned him down because "it wasn't real", even though it obviously was.  

He obviously still loves her. Thinking back to the taping of the special - she played games by buying the painting he wanted and using it to bargain for the theater. "You could have asked, I would have given it to you."  He doesn't treat her like an adversary, but she treats him like one.

And while I'm thinking about it, its not cool that she turned down his proposal but then mercilessly mocked everyone he dated/married because they were too stupid/young/old.  You didn't want him so why make him feel bad about his choices after.

This is another case of her needing to get out of her own way.

 

 

[pasdetrois]

On 5/17/2024 at 7:47 AM, ofmd said:

The soundtrack of this show is impeccable, I want a playlist of all the tracks they've used!

Freddie King is my favorite blues artist ("Going Down").

I guess there are lots of those huge golf-ball hitting places. The character Gregory in Abbott Elementary spent his Mothers Day at one.

I wondered if they would do a fake-out on the show host pick, but I'm glad they kept it real.

On 5/20/2024 at 5:23 PM, peachmangosteen said:

On 5/20/2024 at 3:42 PM, sskrill said:

Her interview w Marc Maron leads me to believe Ava and Hannah are like 90% the same person. 

I figured lol. I need to look for this interview.

She's my least favorite thing about the series. Slight improvement since Season One.

Great script this episode. I hate the fact that men still make important deals while playing golf because women have been excluded historically. It was fun to see a different take on it.

Edited May 28 by pasdetrois

[ProudMary]

15 hours ago, pasdetrois said:

I guess there are lots of those huge golf-ball hitting places. The character Gregory in Abbott Elementary spent his Mothers Day at one.

Top Golf is a large chain. They're in most US cities and about a dozen cities internationally. 

[sugarbaker design]

On 5/23/2024 at 11:16 AM, SnapHappy said:

I swear, when Deb saw Bob & Jack sitting across from each other in the club, ordering a bottle of champagne, I thought they'd lean towards each other and kiss!  *LOL*

I didn't realize it was Deb's rival for the talk show slot.  I thought Bob was secretly gay!!!

It bums me to see posters referring to Deb and Marty as end game.  This show is so well written, I would hate to see that happen.  Deb doesn't need a dude to be happy.

[sskrill]

10 hours ago, sugarbaker design said:

It bums me to see posters referring to Deb and Marty as end game.  Deb doesn't need a dude to be happy.

I don't see it that way at all.  Ava was not wrong in that email she sent to the British writers about what Deborah's life is really like.

Marcus - business partner, no true friendship that we've ever seen

Damien - personal assistant, no friendship we've ever seen

Josephina - house manager, no friendship

Jimmy - manager, no friendship

Ava - employee, highly dysfunctional friendship

DJ - loves her but doesn't like her

Kathy - begged forgiveness only to be reminded of how selfish her sister is

Deborah has almost anything anyone could want, but she has no real friends or relationships.  Marty is the one person who loves her for who she is, despite her laundry list of unpleasant traits.  And I think they have great chemistry going all the way back to the wine cellar at his daughters bat mitzvah.

From what I've seen Deborah doesn't seem to be a particularly happy person despite all the blessings she has.  So maybe some genuine love in her life will do her some good.

[sugarbaker design]

8 hours ago, sskrill said:

I don't see it that way at all.  Ava was not wrong in that email she sent to the British writers about what Deborah's life is really like.

Marcus - business partner, no true friendship that we've ever seen

Damien - personal assistant, no friendship we've ever seen

Josephina - house manager, no friendship

Jimmy - manager, no friendship

Ava - employee, highly dysfunctional friendship

DJ - loves her but doesn't like her

Kathy - begged forgiveness only to be reminded of how selfish her sister is

Deborah has almost anything anyone could want, but she has no real friends or relationships.  Marty is the one person who loves her for who she is, despite her laundry list of unpleasant traits.  And I think they have great chemistry going all the way back to the wine cellar at his daughters bat mitzvah.

From what I've seen Deborah doesn't seem to be a particularly happy person despite all the blessings she has.  So maybe some genuine love in her life will do her some good.

Respectfully disagree with this entire post. 😀

[ofmd]

Respectfully disagree, too.

Also, if it is true she has no real/ healthy friend or family relationship, imho the last thing you should start with is with a romantic one. Of course they see it differently in tv land.