S03.E07: The Deborah Vance Christmas Spectacular

[peachmangosteen]

Airs May 23rd.

[txhorns79]

Deidre Hall! 

In reality, even when you have the rights to a particular story, it can take years from script to actual completed film, so the plan to take Jack out of the running for late night really shouldn't have worked.  

Ava's mother never fails to be awful, and I thought J. Cameron Smith and Jean Smart did a great job of showing just how awkward and uncomfortable the reunion was for Deborah and her sister.   

[Bluedog100]

No one came here to mention the Diedre Hall "evil twin" joke?

[EtheltoTillie]

57 minutes ago, Bluedog100 said:

No one came here to mention the Diedre Hall "evil twin" joke?

I did!  

[EtheltoTillie]

Also she had a Brady apron

[SFoster21]

The show is too vague on thr subject of DJ and her aunt.  If her aunt married her father, of course DJ would have a relationship with the aunt.

 

unless we are expected to believe DJ had no contact with father.  This is not addressed at all.

[Quickbeam]

I know it’s a character but the less DJ I get, the better. The aunt too. 

[EtheltoTillie]

3 hours ago, SFoster21 said:

The show is too vague on thr subject of DJ and her aunt.  If her aunt married her father, of course DJ would have a relationship with the aunt.

 

unless we are expected to believe DJ had no contact with father.  This is not addressed at all.

I think the show dug themselves into a hole with this one, so they now have to hope we handwave away the inconsistencies.

[Lois Sandborne]

I don't need any more Kathy.

Also aunt or stepmom, whichever she is, I think it's a bit presumptuous to gift a crib unasked, especially if you're not the grandparent to be.

[Avaleigh]

I haven't seen Deidre onscreen in 20 years or so. She looks amazing! Love the Brady apron.

[chaifan]

It was weird watching J Cameron Smith as such a meek character after her role in Succession.  But it's good casting - I buy them as sisters.  Did we know Kathy was only 19 when the affair occurred?  That seemed like new info to me.

I love the snow machines, and honestly anticipated a much gaudier xmas decoration display in the house.  OK, the gingerbread replica of the hose was a little much, but the "Just because it's edible doesn't mean you can eat it!" line was pure gold!

I love the development and growth of Deborah.  The scene with her puking in the bathroom shows she was truly anxious about Kathy's visit. 

That poor Santa.  Was he just hiding in the chimney for an hour?  My fanwank on this is that it's a fake fireplace and Deborah built a secret door in the next room that goes into the "chimney" just for this purpose.  Because that's something she would do. 

[peachmangosteen]

6 minutes ago, chaifan said:

It was weird watching J Cameron Smith as such a meek character after her role in Succession. 

She was closer to her character in Rectify here. 

[maddie965]

I was so afraid of this episode, because Christmas episodes can be really depressing (The Bear, anyone?). It was ok though. Just a bit depressing. I can handle that.

[LuvMyShows]

Who were the Black couple and the woman in the Mrs. Santa costume?

Also, when Kayla was eating with her dad, it was the first time that her character hasn't bothered me. I realized that was because the character wasn't trying to "do" something or act a particular way. And since the actress seems to be pretty terrible in those situations, it was much better just seeing her "be".

On 5/25/2024 at 9:32 AM, chaifan said:

OK, the gingerbread replica of the hose was a little much, but the "Just because it's edible doesn't mean you can eat it!" line was pure gold!

Yeah the line was good, but Kathy wasn't raised by wolves...she would definitely have understood that the "edible" house was for display only. It just seemed kind of gimmicky to me.

Edited May 27 by LuvMyShows

[pasdetrois]

On 5/26/2024 at 8:51 PM, LuvMyShows said:

I realized that was because the character wasn't trying to "do" something or act a particular way. And since the actress seems to be pretty terrible in those situations, it was much better just seeing her "be".

Initially she served a purpose I guess, but it could not be sustained in an entertaining way. It became jarring and annoying.

[ItCouldBeWorse]

Jimmy and Kayla's fathers were partners and the families spent a lot of time together. It seems unlikely that Jimmy wouldn't have figured out that Kayla's family wasn't Jewish at some point, even if it was years after the "bat mitzvah".

On 5/24/2024 at 9:06 AM, SFoster21 said:

The show is too vague on thr subject of DJ and her aunt.  If her aunt married her father, of course DJ would have a relationship with the aunt.

 

unless we are expected to believe DJ had no contact with father.  This is not addressed at all.

Although Deborah did take DJ on the road with her, I seem to remember a mention in the first season that DJ spent time with her father and aunt, which Deborah did not like.

[sistermagpie]

I just watched this ep--getting into the show at last--and while they made it impossible for me to completely dislike Kathy because she was J Cameron Smith I still thought Kathy was getting off too easy. 

If it was just a case of Frank and Kathy being a better match it'd be one thing--Deborah obviously could have gotten over Frank. But Kathy was standing by his side as he stole all the money Deborah earned (and Kathy shared it) and tried to take her daughter away (and give her to Kathy). Saying you're a better match for a guy who's a *********** isn't a good argument for why someone should want you in their life since the family you chose wound up dying first. Seems like Kathy needs to take her own accountability and admit to hating her sister.