Star - General Discussion

[FlyHighSky]

Based on the synopsis for upcoming episodes, Carlotta will be back in two more episodes. And I think she will eventually forgive Cassie, not for her sister's sake, but for her own. I think Carlotta discussing the truth about their dad will bring them together and give them a fresh start. But, I wonder if Maurice and Cassie being business partners will complicate their reconciliation. Speaking of, I was on social media and read where a couple of people think there is some sexual tension between those two. I personally didn't pick up on it but the idea is a little intriguing. But, I just can't see it. Maurice is trying too hard to get his ex-wife to mess it up and even though Carlotta can't stand Maurice, I can't see Cassie sleeping with her sister's ex; especially, if she's trying to get on Carlotta's good side.

It's also clear that Megan still has feelings for her ex-husband. Grief can make you do things you normally wouldn't, but I don't believe for a second she would have let Maurice kiss her unless she wanted him to. I feel bad for Noah because he's trying so hard to stay clean but he keeps getting caught up in difficult situations. But the fact that he keeps fighting really shows the growth of his character. He needs to leave Megan alone before it's too late, though. I don't think she's being malicious, but Megan seems to be using Noah to avoid  her feelings for Maurice. At the same time, I think Noah might be clinging to Megan so hard to distract himself from missing Alex. The way he looked after her as she walked by him on the red carpet was very telling. (And she gave him a quick side glance too). There is definitely some unfinished business between those two. I wouldn't mind Noah and Alex getting back together, but it would have to be done right this time; meaning, both of them need to be single first. They never got a fair shake last season because of all the drama. If they don't get back together, that would be cool too as long as they resolve their issues with each other. They can't continue to ignore each other for the rest of the season.

I love Noah and Star's relationship as well and am glad the writers made it clear that whatever lingering feelings they might have had for each other are gone. They play off each other really well as friends. I'm not really all that invested in it, but I think Star and Jackson are cute. I think he is good for her. But I still have the a nagging suspicion that he isn't the father. I hope it's not Noah's but I just keep thinking, why would they even plant that seed (Noah asking if he was the father) unless they were going to try and shock us during the mid-season finale. Either way, I don't really see it affecting Noah and Star's relationship as friends.

I didn't think Derek was cheating on Alex for a minute. I knew he wasn't going to let finding his grandma's rapist go and wasn't surprised he was working with the cops. What I don't understand is why he is keeping it a secret. The major problem he and Alex had during the first round of their relationship was honesty and now he's the one lying. I think that he and the cop might actually develop feelings for each other if they already haven't. They looked too cozy in the picture Alex discovered in the video footage to just be passing info.  Derek also probably has some resentment towards Alex that is going to boil over. They never really talked about their issues (that we saw) and were just back together at the beginning of the season like nothing happened.

Lil Dini was enjoyable to watch for me; he was the comic relief that was sorely needed and it gave the girls an excuse to drop that amazing diss track. I've had Yellow Tape in my head for days! I look forward to seeing his character again just to laugh and watch the girls spar with him. And I do believe the festival is going to happen. I saw some BTS footage and think it's the mid season finale episode.

I'm also here for Nina and Simone. I'm content  to not make any guesses on that one and just watch how it plays out.

Agree with what KWalkerInc said about the Cassie/Cotton situation. I loved how it played out except for the hug at the end too.  I hope Cotton doesn't just 'let it go' and makes Cassie work just as hard to get back in her good graces as she has to with Carlotta. I'm not sure if Omari is alive or not. If he is, I hope he doesn't show back up. There's already too many characters taking away valuable screen time from the main characters. And, I already saw where Gigi is coming back later in the season (which I don't mind because she was entertaining even though she kind of turned on my girl Alex).

[KWalkerInc]

Take 3 working in the studio at the end of the episode was cute, but I was initially afraid poor Alex was going to collapse!  But then it turned out they already had enough depressing and alarming things happening in the montage, so they didn't have that happen yet.  Does everyone have their own henchmen working for them?  I thought the woman blackmailing Noah was just some stalker working on her own, and when they were walking in the dark, I thought they'd be attacked but by a random mugger.  (And again with a cliffhanger given away by the scenes from the next episode.)  It's too bad that Cassie can't go to jail for things she actually did, but can let some creep set her up.  Does she think that he'll wait for her and marry her after she's served a ton of prison time?  And although Xander as a character is doing a lot of terrible things and is easy to hate, I'm still distracted by CMM's acting choices.  He thinks all the whispering contrasted with the awful things he's saying and doing makes it scarier, but no.  At least Carlotta will be back, so Cotton doesn't have to be on her own with no protection with Cassie in jail and Xander thinking Cotton is a snitch.  I hope nothing happens to Cotton, because if Cassie thinks Carlotta hates her now, that would be nothing in comparison.  Carlotta seems to have Xander's number though, so she might have a way to take him down.  I liked them bringing up Star's past with Hunter as she heard about Cassie's situation, even though they didn't explore how that might have influenced why Star pushes people away (they mostly just focused on lack of a father for why she didn't want to let Jackson in).  It's funny that Star said to Jackson that "Pony" is "our song" and used it to win him over!  But they're too happy, he totally won't be the father.  

I guess Derek will be working by himself (probably without any authorization) now that the cop is dead.  I hope that this plot won't last the entire season, because the rapist guy is even more disgusting than Omari (who I agree shouldn't come back if he is alive--they hopefully have the sense to realize that story has been told, unlike some shows I've watched in the past where they'd keep bringing back horrible characters just for shock value).  It's too bad that Megan seems hung up on Maurice and basically admitted that the pain of their daughter's death is the only reason she is not with him, even though he has a lot of bad qualities.  It's annoying that he's pretty much in the same job he was before plus his own thing after Carlotta fired him last season.

I didn't miss Mateo at all this episode, even though Miss Bruce always has something funny to say about him.  I liked when Take 3 asked him how to do something and he said something about how he was just there to motivate, not come up with a plan.  It probably doesn't bode well for Simone that she has yet another love interest who is only listed as a guest star, even though William Levy is not only in the opening credits, but toward the end with an "and" before his name.

[Dee]

How long before Simone learns she's a long lost Lyon?

[FlyHighSky]

On 11/15/2018 at 2:22 AM, Dee said:

How long before Simone learns she's a long lost Lyon?

That never occurred to me but it would be brilliant! I wonder if they will ever do another crossover episode. I don't watch Empire anymore  but I don't even know if both shows are even on the same timeline right now.

 

There was so much going on in this episode, still can't really articulate my thoughts (at least not without writing a full novel), but I'll try. Thought Star and Jackson were super cute and I love how Jackson gave her a reality check. I agree, they're too happy so something is bound to happen. I just don't want Noah to be the father. And it looks like Alex and Noah might be back on. I just hope they have a real conversation first. Although I like them together, I don't want Alex to keep bouncing between guys because she can't make up her mind or she can't stand being alone. I didn't realize how much I missed Carlotta until I saw her in the preview for the next episode. She really is the glue and the one that keeps everybody grounded. Maurice and Megan can just disappear as far as I'm concerned; same with Mateo but Nina can hang around. I don't know why but I like her. Her and Simone have good chemistry, even if they remain just friends, which I doubt based again on next episode's preview. Love Ms Bruce more and more each episode. I already liked Cassie just for pure entertainment purposes, but this week I really felt for her. Even though it doesn't excuse her actions, it does kind of explain why she is the way she is. I'm still dumbfounded she turned herself in; I hope she did it because she still feels guilty over Jahil's death and not because her toxic love for Xander is blinding her. Derek....I just can't. I understand his intentions are good and he's trying to get justice for his grandma but the way he is going about it is all kinds of dumb. And I'm still trying to figure out why he won't tell Alex; even if he couldn't tell her the whole truth, tell her just enough to relieve her fears. Instead, he really let Alex walk out the door but kept saying he loves her. His words and actions aren't lining up and I think he might have more resentment towards her than he realizes. I wonder if deep down he kissed that cop as a diversion (which he could have done so many other things *eye roll*) because in his head he thinks he gets a pass. I don't think he is trying to punish Alex for the past, but his actions show he might not be as over it as he thinks he is. Alright, I'm done...

 

But on a more personal note, It's so wonderful that Jude Demorest had her baby!!! He is so adorable. I just hate that on the same day she announced it, the world learned about Quincy's mother Kim Porter. 47 is way to young to die. May she rest in peace, and I wish her family and especially her children all the love and light during this difficult time.

[KWalkerInc]

I really liked this episode.  Queen Latifah and Brandy in particular did a really good job.  It's a little surprising that Carlotta changed her tune about Cassie so quickly, but that was probably a combination of Cassie being in such a dire situation and what Carlotta had gone through in therapy to realize she needed to confront what their father had done to her and explore what it had done to their relationship as sisters.  When Cassie turned on Xander, I said that if she'd figured it out a little sooner, she wouldn't be in jail.  Of course though it was Carlotta's revelation that led her to have that epiphany.  Then Xander tried to taunt Cassie and I noted that he's not the one who's in the opening credits (thankfully).  I know I shouldn't harp on it, but CMM continues to deliver the most menacing lines like he's ordering lunch.  It was just not convincing that Xander is supposed to be such a bad-ass that he doesn't blink when threatened by Carlotta's burly and ruthless cousin and threatens Carlotta while the guy is standing right there.

Until there was a commercial this week with the scene of Angel walking in on Nina kissing Simone, I had no idea he was coming back.  But as cute as he and Simone are, I said what I often say during the show, "Yeah, this is really going to go well."  I hope he doesn't end up dead.  Simone probably feels cursed enough as it is.  It's funny that William Levy is listed at the back end of the credits to show importance, yet Mateo has been off the last two episodes and I don't care.

Miss Bruce continues to dispel wisdom to everyone very effectively.  Now that Noah is getting along with his dad, I hope they'll eventually tell him about their relationship and that it won't go too badly.  Noah helping Alex was a good scene too, and he handled it well when she tried to kiss him.  I'm surprised they had Noah give up his gun so quickly.  I kept being afraid it would go off and shoot his dad in that scene, so I'm glad it didn't go that way.  Derek of course didn't handle it well when told to leave the investigation of the gang alone.  Was that the same detective they always have investigating everything on this show?  It looked like him anyway.

It was good that Star made reference to her past with not wanting to deal with another controlling mother of a boyfriend, though Jackson fortunately seems at the moment nothing like Hunter.  I think there's a chance he might still want to still see Star once it turns out he's not the father, but she'll probably push him away again.  Too bad.  It would be funny if by the "shocking" baby-daddy reveal in the previews they meant that it's actually Jackson's when most people expect a twist.  But they love giving things away in FOX promos, and they're not that clever, so I'm sure that's not the case.  If it turns out that Star slept with Maurice I will barf, because he's hot, but he doesn't need to be even more in the plot than he is.  A few episodes back, in the episode with the party where Lil Dini was later introduced, I thought there was a brief scene of Star making eye contact with a man in the crowd outside the club whom I didn't recognize, and I wondered if he is the father.  But I could have imagined that.  They really don't need to introduce a new character for something of that magnitude.

And hey Cotton!  Nice to see you for 30 seconds, though she carried out important plot information that Carlotta needed to know.  Oh, I forgot to say that I wish we could have heard Carlotta's verse on the Take 3 song.  I was excited to hear that, and they just cut away.

Edited November 29, 2018 by KWalkerInc
Added reference to wanting to hear Carlotta sing.

[Dee]

I continue to be impressed with how sensitively Star handles Bruce's character arc, only to be seriously disappointed with how they've wasted Cotton.

Edited November 29, 2018 by Dee

[FlyHighSky]

 I hate to say it but at this point, Derek can go. They've tried to give him a more substantial story but his character still basically revolves around Alex. And that relationship has sailed, or at least my interest in it. I was a super fan of their relationship in season one. It was pure magic. But then Noah came along and it hasn't been the same since. Now when I look back on Alex and Derek, they were still very cute but they had a very intense and immature love; a very rose-colored-puppy-ish-my-first-love type of relationship which is maybe why Alex felt the need to lie all the time. She didn't want to pop their perfect little bubble. Now why Derek felt the need to lie, I have no clue. People kept saying that Alex needed to trust him last episode, that he had never given her a reason to doubt him. I'm sorry, but even the most trusting person on earth is going to doubt their significant other's honesty when she catches them kissing someone she already suspected they liked, especially when no explanation is given afterward. And if Alex is supposed to trust him, why couldn't Derek trust Alex enough to confide in her about being an informant? Oh wait, because he already lied about no longer looking for his grandmother's rapist. I was on the fence before but now I'm firmly on Noah's side. Alex and Noah's relationship, while not perfect, has always been grounded in reality and honesty. They have always demanded the truth from each other, no matter how difficult, and refused to let the other off the hook; not to mention the special bond they have through music. I know Noah is in relationship but I find it curious that they were giving each other the 'eyes' and he waited until Alex kissed him to back away. He had plenty of time to stop her before it got to the point. I really want them to get back together but...

 

it probably wont ever happen because of this baby daddy situation. My gut (or maybe it's pure desperation) tells me it's not Noah's baby because it's just too obvious. On the other hand, how else can there be a plot twist without making Star seem like a bigger whore than she's already admitted to being; unless she was drugged and taken advantage of a-la Bill Cosby style. Noah mentioned something about them both partying too hard at the beginning of the tour to avoid dealing with their issues. There could be a night or two in there that Star doesn't even realize she forgot about. We'll just have to wait and see. If Noah really is the baby's daddy, I wonder how that's going to affect the future storyline. I honestly don't see him and Star getting back together and I think Star and Jackson really care about (if not love) each other. But that's a tall order to expect Jackson to stick around and raise someone else's baby. I think he'll leave initially and come back. 

 

LOVED seeing Miss Carlotta this week. But she jumped right back into dealing with everyone's issues and neglecting herself. I know she had the confrontation with her dad at the end, but still...she's already putting too much back on her plate. She needs to slow down before she winds right back where she started. I loved the dynamic between her and Cassie and to see they're finally trying to heal from their childhood. I think there's still plenty of things they need to discuss, especially concerning Jahil, but I can see why Carlotta is willing to let it go for now. I think she finally admitted that their father abused her because she now gets that Cassie has always felt rejected and unlovable and went looking for it in all the wrong places, ie Xander.

 

Bruce is and continues to be EVERYTHING! But he needs to tell Noah about Bobby (or vice versa) before it blows up in their faces.

 

I have a lot more I could say about characters I haven't mentioned and even more about the ones I have, but I'm trying to keep this short-ish. But I do have a couple of predictions for the fall finale/2nd half of the season.

1. I think Simone is going to have an affair with Nina behind Angel's back.

2. I'm glad Alex is single for now, but I think Derek and Noah are going to both try and win her back. If she doesn't pick Noah, I hope she finds a new guy.

3. I think Cassie is going to kill Xander

4. I think there will be a custody battle between Star and whoever the father is.

5. I think Maurice is going to reap what he sows.

[Dee]

Maurice is totally gonna be Star's baby daddy.

[KWalkerInc]

Yeah, probably.  Then there will definitely be a custody battle that will get on my nerves.  She probably wouldn't have any trouble working something out with Noah.  If Maurice is the father, it takes out some of the shock value by hinting at it in the previews, but I'm grateful to not be blindsided!

[FlyHighSky]

I disliked this episode intensely; I’m very close to hating it. The only thing worth mentioning is Alex not getting hijacked for once and slaying her solo performance. She KILT it!!!

 

I can’t wait until the show comes back in March just to see if the writers can redeem themselves; right now (because of spoilers I’m already aware of and my general low expectations) I’m not very optimistic.

[Dee]

That was....a lot.

[Dream Boy]

I wish the promo that aired hadn't teased a "shocking baby daddy" because it pretty much spoiled Noah being the dad.

I agree that this episode was a lot. Things seemed to move at a rapid pace even for this show. My favorite moment had to be Miss Ruby killing her rapist. The fact that he would continue to eat the food, after knowing she prepared it, was a whole other level of too cocky/stupid to live. She needs to cook up a pot of that for Xander.

[KWalkerInc]

I liked this one all right.  I tend to go into episodes of anything with low expectations because of past experiences with shows that I once loved that would seemingly go years without a good episode.  So then if there isn't anything as terrible as Maurice turning out to be the father, I'm okay with it.  FOX has seemingly always loved to spoil things because they don't care if they ruin surprises as long as the ratings go up (even though it doesn't usually work, though this episode did tick up a tenth from the previous week while most of the fall finales airing this week have dropped a bit, probably because people know they have plenty of time to watch on the DVR later).  It's too bad about Star and Jackson, though it probably would have eventually ended anyway if they were only together for the child.  I hope he'll still be around, and I guess he's supposed to be in that movie with Simone?  They mention that movie a lot without anything ever happening.  I hope that Noah isn't dead.  It was stupid when Bobby lied about Bruce even though Noah didn't sound the least bit upset when he asked if they were together.  At least they patched that up though. 

Cassie and Carlotta had some fun banter, though it's weird as hell that Cassie just came in like, "Hey sis, I'm out of prison!" and they acted super happy after everything they've been through.  I thought it might be a dream sequence at first and Cassie would still be in prison for at least that part of the episode.  But there's so many depressing things that I liked anything that was a bit lighter.  I wanted Cassie to shoot Xander and get him off the show.  It's ironic that she spared him for Cotton and then Jayden gets kidnapped.  I know it's wrong to be relieved to see a child kidnapped, but I thought that Xander was going to pan to show Cotton's dead body at the end.  Of course we still don't know where Cotton is at the moment, but hopefully they would have given a hint if she was in trouble too.  And it was one thing for Cassie to do stupid things because she was so blinded by her love or whatever for Xander, but now she steals his flash drive and is like, "Oh, I can wait until the morning to take it to the police"?  That was really bright.

Ruby's revenge on the rapist was great.  I hope she can get away with it, but if Cassie never faced any repercussions for shooting that guy who hadn't actually stolen from her in the head, they can let Ruby slide too.  I thought that Derek was going to get killed and that his pep talk for Alex was going to turn out to be a goodbye.  I was really happy that Alex won over the crowd with her performance, and she actually looks pretty good as a blonde.  When Miss Bruce first suggested it to her the previous episode, I actually yelled, "NO!"

Although Nina's marriage was already pretty bad before she met Simone, it's weird that she at least partially chucked everything to chase after a married 18-year-old (though I really like Simone).  She really should back off for the meantime, especially since Angel and Simone are bound to end in disaster anyway.  I was confused when Mateo recognized Angel (who was also being rather stupid by venturing out) because I forgot that he was a semi-famous singer.  I'm half-expecting Mateo to suddenly vanish at some point with as little as he's on and Maurice to suddenly be in charge, which would suck.  There seemed to be little point to his partnership with Cassie when he just ended up at Gravity anyway.  I did love Carlotta's "Maurice, I see you're standing under the mistletoe.  I guess that means you can kiss my black ass."  Bruce was right that it makes no sense to have a major music festival on Christmas Eve, though people seemed to show up.  They didn't care about setting their fall finale at Christmas time last year.

Finally, the most pointless thing of the season to this point is Hunter's Aunt What's Her Name popping up again.  I know they never followed up on her murdering Brody and Star and Simone don't know how he died, but I'd rather have that loose end than have Auntie show up again.  Hunter and his mom were both garbage and don't need to be revisited.

[luckyroll3]

I did not see the promo reveal about the baby daddy drama, but I sure as hell laughed so damn hard when that beautiful brown baby popped out!  And then felt so stupid because I should have seen that coming since this show just can't resist the drama.  I really like Jackson, so I hope he sticks around.  

I love that they keep talking about Take 3's "farewell album".  Isn't this their first album?  

Go Grandma!  I'm glad she took care of that asshole herself.

[DoItToIt]

On 12/7/2018 at 5:56 AM, KWalkerInc said:

Finally, the most pointless thing of the season to this point is Hunter's Aunt What's Her Name popping up again.  I know they never followed up on her murdering Brody and Star and Simone don't know how he died, but I'd rather have that loose end than have Auntie show up again.  Hunter and his mom were both garbage and don't need to be revisited.

Yes! To all of this!

[PrincessPurrsALot]

Starlings,

If you found this thread, you realize that Star has been turned into a single thread show.  Talk all things Star here.  

To follow this thread, use the follow (Bell shaped) icon that is below the thread title. To get back to this thread more quickly, you can use the Followed Content icon on the main menu bar.  Note, when you choose to follow the thread you can be given a notice or, if you like, have no emails sent to you. 

If you have questions, please PM @PrincessPurrsALot.

Shine on!

[FlyHighSky]

I went to bed too early and now I'm wide awake and feel like venting about a fictional TV drama, LOL. So, I decided why not come on here *shrugs*

 

I've been seeing a lot of commentary from other fans about how happy they are that Derek and Alex finally communicated and are now back together. Now, I know I'm anti-Dalex right now so my opinion is biased, but what?! How does Derek admitting he was an informant for the cops WEEKS later than he should have and then encouraging Alex to go perform by saying "be the girl I first fell in love with" (which is in itself problematic because people are supposed to change and evolve, but that's another subject) qualify as communicating? If they are indeed back together, because it was inferred but not really made clear, are we going to get any scenes in the future where they actually discuss their actual problems? Because even if Noah is no longer an issue (which is debatable), Derek still has to wonder why Alex was so quick to find solace in his arms after they broke up for the second time. Even if you want to call it a rebound, it's still messy because of the history. Not only did Alex cheat on Derek with Noah (though she tried her hardest to keep her feelings in check), she then proceeded to have a whole relationship with him. And they broke up because Noah was a drunk, not because she didn't like him anymore. If Noah had stayed sober, Alex might have still been with him. Or if Noah hadn't turned her down during the club scene this season, they might have gotten back together. However you look at it, friendship or more, there is obviously still chemistry and a genuine affection between Noah and Alex. So for Derek and Alex to get back together without discussing Noah or the general mistrust and lying between the two of them, and to have fans go crazy over it just boggles me. I know they "look" good together (so much so, that some fans keep wishing they were together in real life) and were super cute in the beginning but that is not a good enough reason for a couple to stay together. So unless they actually discuss all their issues, I cannot root for that couple. This whole rant might seem extra and obnoxious because it's about fictional relationships on a fictional TV show but I'm still irritated because fans are idolizing a relationship that in real life would be considered very toxic and unhealthy. Star is not necessarily a show grounded in reality with all the drama and fantasy musical numbers, but I felt in the first two seasons they at least tried to be authentic when it came to how the characters interacted with each other. Now even that aspect has become a fantasy.

 

Star had Noah's baby and her only explanation is I didn't know? And everyone is just okay with it (with the exception of Jackson of course). Again, Alex's feelings about Noah are debatable, but her reaction was not realistic either way. Noah skipping over being angry and moving right into acceptance is not realistic. Star being surprised that Jackson wanted to move out is not realistic. At the very end when Star sent a picture of the baby while Noah was driving, it almost seemed like they had already jumped into co-parenting like it was the most natural thing in the world and that they wouldn't have any issues; again, unrealistic. Even though I love Carlotta and Cassie's relationship, to go from absolute hate to absolute forgiveness in such a short span is unrealistic. The fact that Cassie didn't forsee Xander retaliating once he realized his flash drive was gone was unrealistic. I could go on but you get the picture. Anyway, part of me can't wait for the show to come back just to see what happens, but the other part dreads it because I have a feeling I'm not going to like any of the outcomes, LOL.

 

Okay, I'm done. Maybe I'll fall back to sleep now.

[KWalkerInc]

The show is coming back on March 13.  I saw the preview trailer.  I probably didn't pay enough attention to catch everything, but what I did see depressed me.

[FlyHighSky]

On 2/9/2019 at 6:07 AM, KWalkerInc said:

The show is coming back on March 13.  I saw the preview trailer.  I probably didn't pay enough attention to catch everything, but what I did see depressed me.

Same. I'll be tuning in but I'm not even that excited for the back half of the season.

While Star busting someone upside the head is very much in character, I feel the writers used that as an excuse to throw her in jail to make filming easier because the actress was on maternity leave. It looks like Noah is going to relapse. My guess is because of the car accident, he is given pain killers and becomes addicted to them. This is also in character with Noah being an addict,  but again we now know the reason for the unnecessary car accident (when this show has had enough crashes already); to set him up to fail at sobriety. Then there's the whole Derek and Alex situation which I know will only continue to irk my nerves, LOL. Yep, really depressed about this. Then again, this was only a 30 second clip and Lee and his writers love misdirection, so we'll see.

[KWalkerInc]

I can't even count the number of people that Star has hit.  When they had some character this season who is supposed to be a social media expert, I thought, "Isn't that what Paris Jackson's character did?"  But I guess she was supposed to be just big in Atlanta and this woman was more nationwide or something, plus the fact that the last time Paris's character was around Star, she ended up in a neck brace, so probably wouldn't work with her again anyway!  I wonder if the aunt (Arlene?) will set Star off not only with her comment about Star being too horrible to be a mother or whatever, but also hint at what she did to Brody.

[TiffanyNichelle]

On 2/9/2019 at 6:07 AM, KWalkerInc said:

The show is coming back on March 13.  I saw the preview trailer.  I probably didn't pay enough attention to catch everything, but what I did see depressed me.

I missed most of it and only caught the part about Star being in jail. Boo. Is that for Jude's maternity leave because they could have come up with something more entertaining that that.

[KWalkerInc]

Yeah, I guess they didn't want to have Star go through some medical emergency (coma, etc.) and be in the hospital for a while, so they figured they could just put her in jail.  There will probably be episodes where characters will have some conversation along the lines of "It sucks that Star's in jail"  "Yeah, it does" and then go on with the other plots for the episode without her appearing.  The only other things I noticed in the trailer were Alex and Derek kissing, and then someone trying to throw a plastic bag over a woman's head to suffocate her.

[FlyHighSky]

9 hours ago, KWalkerInc said:

and then someone trying to throw a plastic bag over a woman's head to suffocate her.

That was Xander putting a bag over Cassie’s head.

[KWalkerInc]

Thanks.  No matter how many times I saw the video, I couldn't seem to look quickly enough!

[Dee]

They have totally dropped the ball with Cotton.

She went from strong supporting character to barely featured extra in record time.

[jay741982]

UGH I HATE Arlenes Sister/Hunters Aunt. Your sister was a POS who got what she deserved and Your Nephew was an Abusive POS that got what he deserved 

[FlyHighSky]

The story inconsistencies are really irking me. Didn’t Derek’s grandmother get and start spending his settlement last season? I’m not suggesting she spent it all but they’re acting like he just got the money. And now that I really think about it, we never even heard about Derek suing the person who hit him; we only heard about the settlement in passing in the second half of last season.

Can we talk about how unrealistic that scene between Derek and Noah was? I don’t care if Nalex is in the past, which the writers did not do a good job of giving closure to, but what guy would be cool with the dude his girl cheated on him with? I know guys don’t have a set of rules as strict as ‘girl code’ so to speak, but even that is pushing the boundaries of a guy’s limitations, right? I don’t know. Maybe I’m wrong. 🤷🏽‍♀️

I won’t  go as far as to say I feel bad for Star, but it is really messed about why she’s in jail. She was clearly provoked and even the most levelheaded person would’ve reacted strongly in her situation.

Simone was low-key getting on my nerves this episode. She was definitely channeling Star and I didn’t like it. I’m glad when Alex finally  told her towards the end of the episode to be herself.

 It still boggles my mind when people say Alex is selfish. Even though she’s actively pursuing a solo career now, she still almost turned down a feature in a magazine because of Take 3. And am I the only one who noticed the side eye she was giving any time Star or her baby was mentioned? Or was that just my imagination? I wonder if a conversation or any feelings of resentment will come up later in the season between them. I feel like Alex is trying to keep the peace by acting like she doesn’t care or is indifferent about the whole Noah/Star baby situation. Because even if she doesn’t want Noah back, it would still be natural for her to feel a little hurt. Just like Star was hurt last season even though she moved on to Jackson. Again, it could be my imagination. 🤷🏽‍♀️

Still loving Ms Bruce and her gems of wisdom and snarky comments she keeps dropping. This whole season, her style has been giving me retro. But I guess because of the lighting in this episode, it looks like she came straight out of the 70s disco club studio 54. 😩😂

Don’t have much to say about Cassie and Carlotta this week except....WOW! They are really laying it on thick with this family dynamic. I don’t know if Brandy has been taking acting classes because she has really stepped up her game since she joined the show.

[KWalkerInc]

The thing about the settlement definitely doesn't make a lot of sense.  They just wanted to get some (legal) money into Karma to keep it going, so that's what they came up with, plus giving Derek something to do that didn't involve Alex.  There was no follow-up at all on Grandma Ruby killing the rapist.  I wonder if Derek even knows what happened.  

I have no idea how Star is going to get out of this one.  Maybe if the truth comes out about Charlene (?) being a murderer and provoking her, she will be treated sympathetically.  I admit that because of all the nuisance this storyline is going to be, I was disappointed that What's Her Name wasn't hurt worse (I think Star got Paris Jackson's character worse that that).  But maybe that will work in Star's favor in the end.  When she said her son's name was Davis, I was confused until she said she was giving him Noah's last name.  I thought he was Davis Davis!  I'm worried about the baby, especially with Noah doing everything himself and all his problems.  It would be understandable for him to have some help with child care, but of course he has to do it all himself so that it will likely all blow up in his face.

I was also disappointed in the Cassie/Xander storyline.  I had hoped that with the drama of him kidnapping a child and all the guns being drawn in the previews after the fall finale, that this would wrap that up.  But of course not.  If Brandy has taken acting classes (and she has done a nice job), she should consider giving a referral for a coach to Chad Michael Murray.  When Cotton pleaded to come along to get Jayden back, I pretended that Cassie was going to say, "I don't know, Cot.  Then you might end up in the episode for more than 30 seconds."  She still didn't have a whole lot to do though.  I wonder what Jayden's mom thinks of all this.  She has been absent for quite awhile.  I think Amiyah even makes jokes about that on Twitter.

I'm glad Simone told Alex to accept the offer to appear as a solo artist in Billboard.  It's not like Take 3 is on top and Alex is sabotaging them.  The group was sadly planning to break up anyway, and stupid Maurice took away whatever momentum they had.  I still don't like the fact that Maurice ended up in the same sort of job that Carlotta fired him from, in basically the same place.

The Brown family drama is quite painful to watch because it is so upsetting, but I was glad to see Ms. Patti on the show again.  I just got to see her in concert recently, and it was really great!  I liked the "Family Affair" number at the beginning, even though it had to end weird so that they could incorporate it into the show by making it Cotton's dream. 

Miss Bruce's one-liners were definitely welcome in such a heavy episode.  When she said something about Star pushing out a Tootsie Roll, I snorted and woke up the cat!

ETA: I'm wondering how Cassie can be free, let alone in a position to still run a club that was raided, without the evidence against Xander.  Wasn't cooperating to bring him down the reason she was released?

I don't know what will happen with Charlene (I finally looked up her name), but I have this fear that if the show goes on for several more seasons (which I doubt for a variety of reasons, some of which have nothing to do with the show itself), it will turn out that Arlene and Charlene are actually part of a set of octuplets, all with rhyming names, and the same actress will just keep popping up with new revenge schemes against Star.

Edited March 14, 2019 by KWalkerInc
Added more thoughts.

[FlyHighSky]

I wonder how long it will be before we discover Carlotta’s baby didn’t die. 🤔 There’s actually a character I read about whose is supposed to be a family member and will have a recurring role later in the season. I bet we find out it’s Carlotta’s long lost child.

I’m a little curious to see if whatever Derek’s Story arc this half of the season will stick. All the other male characters have interesting story lines (even Jackson) outside of the women they’re involved with. They’ve developed other relationships and/or have a specific reason as to why they’re interacting with other characters. Like you mentioned, outside of Alex, Derek (and his grandma) always seems so pointless because they don’t feel connected to the main cast in any meaningful way. They’re trying to go back to his season 1 roots with him wanting to get back into his community work, but why did it take him so long? He’s been walking for a minute now. And how does investing in a night club feed that effort? Like you also said, it’s clearly just a storyline to keep Karma thriving without Xander’s money but I wish the writers would stop being so transparent and develop some consistency even when they’re trying to drive the story narrative forward.

[FlyHighSky]

Overall this season has been a disappointment, but this was one of the better episodes. I’m here for the Alex vs Gigi story. Even though they’re rivals right now, I honestly think they will go back to supporting each other. Their friendship was one of my favorite things about Season 2. I see other fans talk about how much they miss Alex and Star’s friendship from season 1 and honestly have no idea what they’re talking about. All I remember is Star trying to sleep with Alex’s dad, stealing the lead during a performance, etc. Whereas I felt like Alex and Gigi had a genuine connection until Alex called Gigi out for stealing music.

I feel like Simone’s storyline is important and needs to be told, but I’m honestly bored by it. Does that make me a terrible person?

So Maurice and Cassie is finally happening, huh? I hated the idea earlier this season but now I’m kind of here for it. Brandy and Lance have good chemistry. It’s still messed up to mess with your sister’s ex, especially someone as grimy as Maurice, but I hope Cassie tells Carlotta’s what’s up instead of getting caught. And if Carlotta doesn’t approve, she needs to back off ASAP.

Thought Noah and Alex were cute tonight. The friendship angle baffles me because of their history but I enjoy any scene those two share.  I know they still care for each other, but in the real world, you don’t stay friends with the dude you cheated on your man with if you’re serious about making your relationship work. Also, I find it interesting how easy it is for Alex to talk to Noah but not Derek. Is this a conscious decision by the writers, and if so, what is the purpose?

Mateo was actually a little interesting tonight.

Cotton has really disappeared this season. I know Amiyah got sick during filming this season and missed a few weeks but still. Even though I love most of cast, there’s simply not enough time to give them all shine. They need to trim the cast or at least cut back on guest stars if this show gets another season. I actually wouldn’t hate it at all if next season they got rid of Jackson, Maurice, Derek, Mateo, and added Gigi as a regular cast member with one other male lead (as a love interest for Star or Alex). Probably won’t happen though.

[Dee]

I love these crazy ass heffas.

[KWalkerInc]

I was a bit thrown off when Maurice announced that Carlotta was "away" again.  Queen Latifah had actually given a heads up about that, but I didn't see it until after the episode aired.  After Mateo said that Maurice could only have the job at Gravity with Carlotta's approval, I thought maybe there would be a scene where Maurice asked her, and it probably would have been entertaining.  That would have been nice to see instead of him suddenly having the job (even though the writers seem to have decided he's nice again).  I think that Carlotta will probably offer Cassie her approval--with perhaps a warning about Maurice's shady ways--if she's asked, but it will probably kind of bother her.

I wonder if Simone's movie storyline was permanently dropped.  I was surprised it was even mentioned because it was a passion project of Nina's, but I pretended that Simone answered the question about the movie with "The writers couldn't think of anything else to do with that plot, so I'm doing this now."  I liked her song, but I have the feeling that just getting the council to take a vote on sanctuary city status isn't going to get them the answer they want.  Mateo's ex should be grateful that they never got married, considering the way we've seen him act in a marriage.  I had skimmed the guest star credits for the first few episodes of the spring, so I was surprised and not at all pleased when Xander suddenly popped up.  I really hope they won't think of making him a regular.  It reminds me of when I watched the original Melrose Place and guest characters I didn't like would stick around seemingly forever.

Gigi at first was a lot more obnoxious than I remembered, so I was glad she showed a different side again later in the episode.  Alex sabotaging her microphone was great though.  I had seen a note about the role of Gigi's aunt being cast, but it didn't mention that she actually had two aunts overseeing her.  They are definitely a lot.

Star's conflict with the woman in prison is predictable.  I guess it is different from Simone being picked on by Karen and the girl who later killed herself in juvie because Simone is a nice person and Star is...well, Star.  It was moving the first time an episode ended with her singing to herself alone in a cell, but won't be if they decide to end every episode that way.  I know she wants to get out, but you'd think her lawyer would be the one who needs more time for preparation due to the evidence against Star.  Nobody seems to be bothering with the fact that Charlene confessed to killing Brody and that this might need to be investigated.  But I'm also still wondering what happened after Grandma Ruby killed the rapist.  I'm guessing she probably didn't tell Derek anything about it.

[FlyHighSky]

15 hours ago, KWalkerInc said:

I was a bit thrown off when Maurice announced that Carlotta was "away" again.  Queen Latifah had actually given a heads up about that, but I didn't see it until after the episode aired.  After Mateo said that Maurice could only have the job at Gravity with Carlotta's approval, I thought maybe there would be a scene where Maurice asked her, and it probably would have been entertaining.  That would have been nice to see instead of him suddenly having the job (even though the writers seem to have decided he's nice again).

I’m confused by Maurice’s change in attitude. How do you go back from nice to evil to nice again? I think the writers were trying to write him as overly ambitious and didn’t know how to strike a balance between his drive and keeping his personality consistent. And while I don’t blame him for the the demise of Take 3 (because Star’s jealousy,ambition, and other factors were bound to make them self destruct), he definitely was a catalyst. I like nice Maurice, just can’t trust it to last. He and Star have that in common. They’re loyal until it’s something they want. Would have loved to see Maurice begging Carlotta for a job as well. The only reason I could imagine her giving him a job is out of convenience, knowing that he would be able to hold it down while she was out of town. I wonder where she went?

[nilyank]

I think that started to write nice Maurice when they mentioned that he lost a daughter and his wife as a result. Honestly, I think that they made him again was because they needed someone to run Gravity Records as Carlotta wasn't around as much this season.

[FlyHighSky]

W.O.W!!! 😱🤯😱🤯😱

I know this show always moves at a fast pace but this episode was on whatever Gigi and her aunt were snorting up their noses. That being said, I actually enjoyed this episode immensely; definitely one of the best ones of the entire season. So much happened, I’m still processing and can’t go into a deep dive but I want to point out a few things.

1. Called Carlotta’s son still being alive. 

2. I’m not a Star fan at all, so her being in jail doesn’t move me. But that aside, Star having less scenes and Mateo and Carlotta being gone made the episode flow better because they had less characters to give screen time. Again, the cast needs to be trimmed if they get a season 4 pick up.

3. As of tonight, every member of Take 3 has fallen victim to a broken condom.

4. I have to go on my weekly rant about Derek and Alex. The season 1 chemistry is long gone. And I get that Derek is the ‘good guy’ but he came off a little preachy and self righteous tonight. The writers really write him like he can do no wrong; very unrealistic. Also, they’re really pushing the Alex/Noah friendship (a little too hard IMO) which is fine I guess. However, I felt more heat from  their one hug than all of Alex and Derek’s scenes put together. Yes, I’m biased but if anyone disagrees with me, PLEASE tell me why so I can genuinely understand.

5. I feel like a terrible person but I’m actually really feeling Maurice and Cassie. What is wrong with me? 😩😩😩

Edited March 28, 2019 by FlyHighSky

[KWalkerInc]

Good call on Carlotta's son being alive!  This is very "soapy" of them.  How convenient that Calvin suddenly became lucid enough to reveal that just seconds after mistaking Cassie for Carlotta.  I'm glad they said that Carlotta was in Miami, even though they never even gave a throwaway line to explain it (like she needed to get away from all the stress or something).  I wonder if Cotton will get to be involved at all in this plotline since this is her brother, but I'm guessing she still won't have much to do.

Charlene spanking the judge was extremely disturbing, and I don't think I'll ever hear "Love Machine" the same way again!  It was worse than when a character would use it to get himself "in the mood" on Ally McBeal.  I liked how Charlene said something stupid about how they had no proof, and Cotton gave her a look like, "What do you think I'm doing with this phone, bitch?!"  I thought someone was going to come steal the phone, because they kept saying, "Star is getting out of jail!" so many times that I knew they were jinxing her.  Jude said on Twitter (in reponse to someone's comment) that when she got the script, she insisted that Star could take down the other woman.  I really don't think so.  I hope they won't have a bunch of crap about Star's dreams while she is unconscious, though it would be funny if she came out of it even angrier than before instead of learning a lesson. 

Speaking of dreams, I thought that Simone's first scene with Angel was going to turn out to be a dream sequence because I wasn't expecting everything to just suddenly be resolved.  I guess Simone's song really moved people!  I hope they won't have her turn out to be pregnant too; maybe that was just all to highlight differing goals she has from Angel. 

Even though Derek's advice to Alex was probably good (especially considering the aftermath), he was getting on my nerves with his speech.  It was better earlier in the episode when Miss Bruce was there to disagree with him.  I'm glad that Gigi quickly realized that her other aunt was the one who leaked the video.  I think it was pointed out in the show, but it was weird to go from seeing Gigi's aunt lying dead on the Karma floor to most of the characters living it up at the party for the ASA nominations.  Also weird that Derek doesn't have any reaction to Alex hugging Noah, when he used to be all jealous and suspicious even before anything ever happened between them.  I wonder if they will ask Alex and Noah to sing their song on the awards show, if they have the ASA show as a storyline.  Seeing them sing it again might stir something up for Derek.  I know they usually don't have repeat songs on here, but (as Ariana Grande knows) award shows generally don't like new songs.  And we still don't know where Grandma Ruby is!

Carlotta is going to have so much going on that she probably won't even notice anything between Cassie and Maurice, even if they get together and Cassie flat-out tells her!

[Dee]

Cotton is quite cavalier for a woman whose father was murdered by their beloved auntie & whose son was kidnapped by a psycho ex of their aforementioned auntie.

[FlyHighSky]

I’m going to make this quick...ish.

1. The way they’re setting up this Maurice/Cassie relationship, I can’t help but root for them a little more each week. In real life, this situation would be a hard NO, but in STAR universe, I’m loving it. And Xander is gone!! YAY!!!! Did he kill himself or did Cassie shoot him from a distance?

2. Cotton finally gets a storyline 13 episodes into an 18 episode season, but her time was still so brief, we don’t even know what the plot really is. Also, does she work at Karma and are we supposed to know? If so, when did that happen?

3. Good to see Carlotta back. Can’t say I missed her the past couple of weeks but whenever she reappears, it’s so refreshing. She really grounds the other characters.

4. Star.... I know Jude was on maternity leave during this part of filming so they had to come up with storylines to explain her limited scenes, but they are really doing the most. And I really can’t find it in me to care or feel any type of sympathy. Then that whole Noah monologue by her bedside... I can’t without writing a novel. That leads me to my favorite subject...

5. Derek and Alex. *sigh* I really can’t. Even though I prefer Alex with Noah ( when he’s clean), I wouldn’t be bothered by Dalex if not for the piss poor writing. They have spent the better part of three seasons being ‘cute’ but not communicating. Now, in two episodes they’ve become talking experts. Now, suddenly Derek is sensitive about Noah and Alex is sensitive to Derek’s feelings about Noah. But haven’t Derek and Noah been ‘cool’ the last few episodes, dappin’ it up (which I mentioned repeatedly was unrealistic)?! And you mean Derek had no problem with, or Alex didn’t feel any awkwardness taking Noah to the Sapphire party? Or hugging Noah in front of his face at the ASA nomination party? But now she can’t perform with him. I get the history behind the last time they performed ( especially that song) together, but it’s still a reach. If they’re no longer feeling each other, it shouldn’t be an issue. You can’t literally be buddy buddy with your ex one minute and be trippin’ the next. What bothers me the most is that the writers want to invalidate that Noah and Alex ever truly cared for each other. I would’ve bought it as a steamy affair she regretted had it been a couple of hook ups. But Alex spent too much time fighting her feelings for Noah even after Derek broke up with her, which indicated her feelings went deeper than the surface, and then when she did finally hook up with him, she DATED him. It wasn’t just sex. But I digress. Despite ALL of that, if the writers had at least attempted to show how remorseful Alex was or made her work harder (or at all) to get Derek back, I wouldn’t be looking at my TV in disbelief every week; nor thinking that Derek is too soft. And now we have this proposal which will most likely lead to a wedding in the season finale, where something is bound to happen. *sighs again* Again, if someone has a different perspective, please share. I want to understand.

I’m done. Thank you for coming to my sad and repetitive TED talk.

[KWalkerInc]

I had assumed that Xander killed himself until they made it seem vague with Carlotta saying to Cassie, "Whatever happened, I'm glad it's over."  Some people apparently knew Cassie was up to something because she had a toothpick in her mouth again.  That cracked me up.  I just hope that Cassie made sure he was dead before she left.  I would be really upset if he somehow popped up again, so I hope they just had the black screen because it would have been too graphic, no other reason. 

It's kind of funny that Cotton can only get a storyline by stepping outside and wandering into one by accident.  I just hope they plan for it to be inspiring (or as inspiring as you can get in limited screen time) and not end up with her getting killed.  She did seem to be working at Karma since she gave orders to that other employee.  I guess it would make sense since no one is mad at Cassie anymore and with Derek investing she could also fall under his plan to give jobs to ex-convicts, but no, they never did establish that she works there. 

I really hope that Star will not wake up with amnesia!  And I'll barf if she does and gets her memory back by holding her baby.  I do like her friendship with Noah, though I don't care much about most couples on the show.  I was going to get really mad (and still will) if something happened to Davis.  He really does have quite a set of lungs.  Every time he started crying, the cat woke up and started giving me looks like I was somehow supposed to make the noise stop.  I wonder why Jackson is still on the show if he isn't even going to visit Star after saying that he loved her.  I did like the callback to season 1 with Star and Simone's duet.  I think I was still watching on demand for the original with Star and Mary singing to Simone because I hadn't gotten caught up yet.

I don't really care if Derek and Alex are together or not, but I kind of guessed there would be an engagement because there had been a poll on the Star Twitter page (on National Proposal Day or something) asking "Who should have the next proposal?" and they won of course.  I can't tell how much time has passed since the fall finale, but it seems like they haven't been back together for very long after their contrived break-up when he was undercover.  When he got upset about the commercial featuring "So Sick," I rolled my eyes because they certainly could have had Derek react in SOME way to Alex and Noah interacting at other points in the season.  It wouldn't have been that hard to just have him look upset for a split-second when Alex hugged Noah or something.  And I'm glad Gigi doesn't blame Alex for her aunt's death (though it's very sad she blames herself), but I don't agree with Carlotta that Gigi snapped at Alex because she was grieving.  I thought she had legitimate reason to be annoyed with Alex whining that she didn't want to sing the song, because it was annoying.  I'm sure if they have the wedding this season there will be some disaster, hopefully not as bad as that old episode of Dynasty that I would always hear about where everyone got shot.  Maybe Alex's mom will mess things up since they keep mentioning her.

Did Mateo tell his new/old flame (I don't remember her name) that he had secured new investors as they entered the party?  Sometimes I can't completely understand him, and there was a lot of background noise and music during that scene.  I just know that he seemed happy and mentioned investors, and it would be good if he had now that Xander isn't bankrolling him.

[AsiagoSauce]

Am I the only one that doesn't care about/get annoyed whenever Mateo and his new flame, Ms. Crimson Chin, are on screen?  Mateo is literally a plank of wood and his walking chin implant of a girlfriend bring nothing to the show. It's funny that whenever they're on screen, the background music is more passionate than their acting.

[FlyHighSky]

11 hours ago, AsiagoSauce said:

Am I the only one that doesn't care about/get annoyed whenever Mateo and his new flame, Ms. Crimson Chin, are on screen?  Mateo is literally a plank of wood and his walking chin implant of a girlfriend bring nothing to the show. It's funny that whenever they're on screen, the background music is more passionate than their acting.

It’s very random... like everything else on this show. His character has added nothing to the show. They should have let Ayanna.

[FlyHighSky]

On 4/5/2019 at 1:44 PM, KWalkerInc said:

I had assumed that Xander killed himself until they made it seem vague with Carlotta saying to Cassie, "Whatever happened, I'm glad it's over."  Some people apparently knew Cassie was up to something because she had a toothpick in her mouth again.  That cracked me up.  I just hope that Cassie made sure he was dead before she left.  I would be really upset if he somehow popped up again, so I hope they just had the black screen because it would have been too graphic, no other reason. 

It's kind of funny that Cotton can only get a storyline by stepping outside and wandering into one by accident.  I just hope they plan for it to be inspiring (or as inspiring as you can get in limited screen time) and not end up with her getting killed.  She did seem to be working at Karma since she gave orders to that other employee.  I guess it would make sense since no one is mad at Cassie anymore and with Derek investing she could also fall under his plan to give jobs to ex-convicts, but no, they never did establish that she works there. 

I really hope that Star will not wake up with amnesia!  And I'll barf if she does and gets her memory back by holding her baby.  I do like her friendship with Noah, though I don't care much about most couples on the show.  I was going to get really mad (and still will) if something happened to Davis.  He really does have quite a set of lungs.  Every time he started crying, the cat woke up and started giving me looks like I was somehow supposed to make the noise stop.  I wonder why Jackson is still on the show if he isn't even going to visit Star after saying that he loved her.  I did like the callback to season 1 with Star and Simone's duet.  I think I was still watching on demand for the original with Star and Mary singing to Simone because I hadn't gotten caught up yet.

I don't really care if Derek and Alex are together or not, but I kind of guessed there would be an engagement because there had been a poll on the Star Twitter page (on National Proposal Day or something) asking "Who should have the next proposal?" and they won of course.  I can't tell how much time has passed since the fall finale, but it seems like they haven't been back together for very long after their contrived break-up when he was undercover.  When he got upset about the commercial featuring "So Sick," I rolled my eyes because they certainly could have had Derek react in SOME way to Alex and Noah interacting at other points in the season.  It wouldn't have been that hard to just have him look upset for a split-second when Alex hugged Noah or something.  And I'm glad Gigi doesn't blame Alex for her aunt's death (though it's very sad she blames herself), but I don't agree with Carlotta that Gigi snapped at Alex because she was grieving.  I thought she had legitimate reason to be annoyed with Alex whining that she didn't want to sing the song, because it was annoying.  I'm sure if they have the wedding this season there will be some disaster, hopefully not as bad as that old episode of Dynasty that I would always hear about where everyone got shot.  Maybe Alex's mom will mess things up since they keep mentioning her.

Did Mateo tell his new/old flame (I don't remember her name) that he had secured new investors as they entered the party?  Sometimes I can't completely understand him, and there was a lot of background noise and music during that scene.  I just know that he seemed happy and mentioned investors, and it would be good if he had now that Xander isn't bankrolling him.

I don’t know if I would say I found Alex annoying in that scene, but maybe a little out of character. Usually Alex says what she has to without beating around the bush. And when someone snaps on her, she snaps back. Even Carlotta was looking like, girl what are you doing? 

I heard about a certain character (won’t spoil it) coming back for the wedding whom I’m sure will wreak havoc, but I don’t know how. 

Not sure about the investors and Mateo. I mostly understand what he is saying but I find my attention wandering elsewhere when he’s on my screen. 

[AsiagoSauce]

It's funny that out of all of the things Star could have and should have been arrested for, defending her child in her OWN hospital room is what finally does it. Jude deserves to be with her baby, but for the story's sake, the writers should have just put her in a coma at the beginning instead of meandering around with those prison scenes.

What was even Arlene's defense? She waltzed into the hospital room of her dead nephew's girlfriend and was viciously attacked by her for no reason? Hell, the baby isn't even Hunter's!

[Dee]

The best thing this show has ever done is strengthening Simone as a character.

[AsiagoSauce]

41 minutes ago, Dee said:

The best thing this show has ever done is strengthening Simone as a character.

Yeah, before this point she was kinda of background character whose emotions and motivations were all over the place. I feel like the writers didn't know what they were doing with her.

[FlyHighSky]

1. Tonight’s episode was okay. For the most part, I like Simone’s character but I’m tired of her always lashing out. If we didn’t know they were sisters, you would still be able to tell Simone and Star are related because they are both team #TooMuch. Don’t get me wrong, her reasons for lashing out were very valid, but I wish she was able to communicate her frustrations in a healthier way.

2. I like the performance and song for Take 2 and Gigi 

3. So Maurice and Cassie are officially  together now? Last episode, I thought they were still tip toeing around each other. Regardless, I hope Cassie tells Carlotta about them soon before it blows up in her face, especially considering how far they’ve come in mending their relationship.

4. Carlotta is the strongest yet most vulnerable person on the show.

5. Noah... while portraying his constant struggle with addiction is accurate in real life, it saddens me to watch it play out on TV

6. Cotton literally has a whole storyline now and she was still on screen less than two minutes.

7. Derek and Alex... meh. He finally saw her have a panic attack so... progress. Alex looked a little jumpy when she was talking to Noah, I wonder if she thought a reporter was going to catch them talking and start drama in the press.

8. Even though it got a little repetitive, I like how they mentioned how complicated Star and Alex’s friendship is. It has been a little disingenuous for them to have Alex acting like her and Star don’t have several deep rooted issues and conflicts between them that haven’t been resolved. The problems don’t disappear just because Star was incapacitated for awhile. You can love, be worried and still have hard feelings for someone at the same time.

[KWalkerInc]

Considering all that Simone has gone through, I'm surprised that she isn't always as over the top as she is being right now.  I think seeing Star's often poor example of how to handle things and how that turns out has helped her to be more restrained at times, but this is all too much for her.  It's weird that they brought Angel back so quickly only for him to (at least for now) have no role in this storyline, even if it's to show that he can't calm her at all.  I guess they didn't because they were instead focusing on Carlotta's involvement, that she wants to help them make the right decisions but they are adults.  But given how tightly wound Simone was, someone should have kept her away from the vigil outside the studio, or maybe Carlotta could have thanked the people but politely asked them to leave because they weren't helping the family.  I didn't like how snotty Simone was about Alex telling the reporter/blogger woman that she was so happy, because Alex was clearly being quite sarcastic.

I don't understand why Noah thinks that hiring a lawyer about custody would be "throwing money at everything."  He's not going to get his son back when he is so fresh off a near-tragedy and hasn't done all that much to try to make sure it doesn't happen again, outside of going to meetings and just hoping/promising he won't slip again.  But he should at least explore his legal rights for when he hopefully does have it together (as much as anyone ever does on this show).  It doesn't help that he thinks he has to be Super Dad who does everything without any help.  It was nice to learn that Jackson has been regularly visiting Star, even though they didn't bother to mention that earlier.  As with Simone, I can understand him being pissed at Noah, but the fight was stupid and I was glad the doctor yelled at both of them.

As much as I like her performances, it was smart of Gigi to decide to step away from the music for a while.  With Gravity's problems (I guess there weren't new investors), they probably would have just kept pressuring her for more when she is not in a position to give it right now.  I liked the scene where she and Alex rehearsed together.

I wonder if the hospital will be able to tell that Cassie killed Calvin rather than him just dying of natural causes.  When Carlotta almost killed him, I kept thinking that the nurses would know something was wrong and come bursting in.  Brandy handled the scene really well, with Cassie showing just a tinge of regret at the end over killing her father, even though he was a monster.  I'm not sure Maurice completely knows what he is getting into, though the dancing was cute.  And I don't know why they elected to just have them already in a relationship rather than actually showing them decide to make that leap.  It didn't seem like much time had passed because Maurice didn't know about Xander.

Cotton is like off on her own little show, except it's more like one of those "webisodes" or whatever where the commercials are longer than the episode!  Cotton should know that it's just about futile trying to convince the woman in the trailer to give up being a prostitute, considering she lost Elliott after breaking her promise and continuing to see guys, leading to her stealing from him, going to prison, meeting Omari, seeing Elliott get murdered, and almost getting drowned.  She did give me one of the few laughs of the episode, though I can't remember it now, something like, "Rule number one:  don't be a trifling-ass ho!"

I wonder if the previews are actually for an episode other than next week's, as they do that sometimes.  Otherwise, that is one quick recovery by Star!  But at least there doesn't appear to be any amnesia.

[AsiagoSauce]

.We're in Season 3 and I'm still not here for Dalex. They're the kind of relationship that just there. The just don't have chemistry anymore. Actually, I'm not really sure if they ever did.

As for Simone, it's interesting to see the actress give more than just one wide-eyed facial expression like she's been doing up until this point.  I have a sneaking suspicion that the actress who plays Simone got some work because although she's trying to make facial expressions now, the fillers/botox isn't really allowing her to do so. When she tries, her face warps weirdly. Her cheekbones and jawline look fuller and her face overall looks bigger. She's aged her once the youthful face and now looks much older than she actually is, which is a shame considering acting is an ageist career field. Her singing also hasn't improved over the past few years. It's only been injected (pun intended) with even more autotune.

Simone's now Star 2.0 instead of her own character. I know that they're sisters but they've spent too much time apart to act exactly alike. Simone didn't have to burn the sign for Star, that was just too bitchy. 

Although Alex's character has flip-flopped in the past, but the actress' overall performance has improved since Season 1.  So has her style. I kinda liked the throwback girl group song. I've always kind of like the relationship between her and Star. Alex is the meticulous Ice Queen while Star is the destructive Fireball. And Simone's just...there.

It's funny seeing Maurice get so worked up over not sleeping with Gigi when he literally slept with Carlotta who was working with him at that point. He's not above sleeping with coworkers!

I miss the time when Cotton was an actual character whose screen time lasted more than a freaking commercial break.

I don't y really think that Noah's TV parents would make a child that looks like him.

So far, I think the writers have done pretty good at somewhat redeeming Cassie's character. I definitely see a future episode will Terrel Brown's (Carlotta's son) name on it.

[AsiagoSauce]

I like Patti Labelle, but her character is so infuriating! Especially when her actions mirror some real-life mothers when it comes to their child being molested/raped by their significant other. It is nice that she and Carlotta were able to make up.

Having Noah relapse is kind of a cheap way to bring Hunter and Star back together.

A new, rival artist who's also a mean girl? What a shock.

I've also just realized that this show isn't really going to anywhere careerwise for the girls. They can't ever get too famous or rich because then the show wouldn't be able to focus on the minor characters and their storylines. Take 3 will always be the underdog in one way or another. It's always going to be one step forward and three steps back.

Also, is the baby's name actually Davis Davis or is it simply a place holder?

Nice little Empire crossover coming soon.

[FlyHighSky]

16 hours ago, AsiagoSauce said:

Also, is the baby's name actually Davis Davis or is it simply a place holder?

Star gave the baby Noah’s last name so his name is Davis Brooks.

Speaking of Star, she jumped right back into being her stubborn, bossy, and controlling self. I’m glad Alex and especially Simone checked her. Star’s ego is out of control. Instead of accepting help, she really thought she could jump back in and take over the reigns and that the group really couldn’t function without her. But the hard truth was, with the exception of Noah, everyone was doing just fine (some might say better) when she was indisposed. And the only reason Noah didn’t fare better is due to the pressure of becoming not only a father, but a single one, overnight and dealing with a bad back injury.

I’m glad Calvin is dead and I hope that storyline is too. I know there is still the mystery of Carlotta’s son but please no more mention of Calvin.

Throw Cotton’s storyline away ASAP!

Noah... *sigh* Again, realistic portrayal of how hard it is for addicts to get AND stay clean but In this particular instance I want the TV version where Noah is magically cured. Simone spent most of season 1 and 2a high as a kite and now you would think she never touched a drug in her life. Also, I get that Noah effed up royally, but to not let Noah see his son even with supervision is going too far.

Simone and Alex KILLED their performance! Take 3 is probably at their best when they have all three, but this further proved that Star isn’t as important as she thinks she is to the group’s overall success or survival.