Season 5 Discussion

[Pallas]

Your thread for all-episode discussion in Season 5.

[gesundheit]

You know what? I didn't hate that premiere. And believe me, I've ONLY been hate-watching this show the last couple seasons. I think the device they used was really effective (especially when we saw moments in the scenes from different perspectives in each person's "chapter"). Although damn, I hate Jo now. I used to like her because she brought the wry snark, but I have no patience for people who treat their employees like that.

[SunnyBeBe]

I tried to watch it last night.  I think I may just be too over it.  Little things bother me, like the dialogue with Phoebe and her brother.....IDK.  It's clear where that is going, imo.  So unoriginal.  

Some of the other characters have just gotten annoying too, like Jo and Dehlia.  It might be worth it to see it to the end, but, IDK.  THIS is the finale season, right?

[stacyasp]

Why does Alana ( Jo) wear a wig, isn’t her hair pretty much just like the wig, unless she’s lost a lot from major weight loss?

[voiceover]

The only reason I was still watching (Abby's bedside table lamps) is...gone.  Who in production decided that, and where online are they selling them??

The rest just irritated me.  When did Barbara turn into Eeyore?  Between this, and Dietland, and Younger, and all those thinkpieces about the 20th anniversary of Sex and the City, apparently there is no longer such a thing as a good man.  One who isn't dumped by a character on the show, or maligned online, as "too [insert bad adjective here]".  Damn.  When did this happen?

I need to retreat to TCM and watch Ronald Colman on a loop.

[LuvMyShows]

I found it so for past unbelievable that Barbara would do such a 180 on how she felt about her ex.  If I understand correctly, that he slept with her best friend (sister?) while they were married, and she carried a lot of anger about it ever since, then it is inconceivable to me that she would want to sleep with him now, even if she was subconsciously looking for a way to sabotage her current relationship.  

I like Mike a lot, but I think that having an entire family move in with Abby's family, when it's just a boyfriend/girlfriend relationship, is ill-advised.  And it just makes me want to hate the writers, and Abby's character, for having her break her "I love you, move in with me" news to Mike while they were standing on the red carpet.

I agree about the awfulness of how Jo is treating her employees.  I believe that she would have long ago hired some managers, so that she didn't have to deal with all that crap.  At the least, Albert should have spoken up when he heard her talking that way.

I don't know what to think about Delia.  On the one hand, I get her change of heart about having a kid, but on the other hand, I so don't.  

I just can't with Phoebe.

And what was all the urgency at the red carpet event, with having all the gals have to pull away from what they were doing, and saying that Delia is feeling faint and all that, just because she had received a ring and didn't know what to do?  It makes all of them seem to have no more maturity than your average group of high school girls.

Yes, I hate watch!

[bilgistic]

Delia's storyline pisses me off. "I never wanted to get married or have a child until a man told me that's what I wanted, and I knew I really did want it." NO. Women don't HAVE to be mothers. Delia's vehemently never wanted children.

Spoiler

In the preview, she says she's going to find a sperm donor. No, no, no!

I saw this happen with a former friend and it just burns me up. Her husband wanted kids; she didn't but relented. She was a alcoholic and opiod addict who really didn't need a kid; the marriage broke up when the baby was still an infant but she had custody.

[catrice2]

I liked this show the first season but since then it's hit or miss and when I do watch it I agree with most of the above -pretty much everyone gets on my nerves. I thought Barbara was an unnecessary addition and she's just gotten worse every time she's on screen

 

Could they not think of anything else except bringing back the ex husband again from the previews?

[luna1122]

On ‎06‎/‎16‎/‎2018 at 12:08 PM, LuvMyShows said:

I found it so for past unbelievable that Barbara would do such a 180 on how she felt about her ex.  If I understand correctly, that he slept with her best friend (sister?) while they were married, and she carried a lot of anger about it ever since, then it is inconceivable to me that she would want to sleep with him now, even if she was subconsciously looking for a way to sabotage her current relationship.  

I just hated Barbara in this episode. Cheating on nice Theo Huxtable for your cheating-with-your-SISTER ex??? Wtf? At least Theo's free now, I hope he doesn't take her back.

On ‎06‎/‎16‎/‎2018 at 12:08 PM, LuvMyShows said:

I like Mike a lot, but I think that having an entire family move in with Abby's family, when it's just a boyfriend/girlfriend relationship, is ill-advised.  And it just makes me want to hate the writers, and Abby's character, for having her break her "I love you, move in with me" news to Mike while they were standing on the red carpet.

Abby's house is big, but is it big enough to accommodate three more people? The daughters already don't along, and now they're going to have to share a room? And it wasn't a well thought, carefully considered plan...she's just being insecure about him working with his ex wife.

On ‎06‎/‎16‎/‎2018 at 12:08 PM, LuvMyShows said:

I agree about the awfulness of how Jo is treating her employees.  I believe that she would have long ago hired some managers, so that she didn't have to deal with all that crap.  At the least, Albert should have spoken up when he heard her talking that way.

I don't know what to think about Delia.  On the one hand, I get her change of heart about having a kid, but on the other hand, I so don't.  

I just can't with Phoebe.

Jo's a bitch. Delia suddenly having baby rabies is insulting. And I love Phoebe, for some reason.

On ‎06‎/‎16‎/‎2018 at 12:08 PM, LuvMyShows said:

And what was all the urgency at the red carpet event, with having all the gals have to pull away from what they were doing, and saying that Delia is feeling faint and all that, just because she had received a ring and didn't know what to do?  It makes all of them seem to have no more maturity than your average group of high school girls.

Yes, I hate watch!

The red carpet panic and all the whispered, freaked-out-faced urgency was like Carrie dragging all her friends out of bed and the tub or whatever cuz she just HAD to tell them that she'd kissed Aidan the second after it happened. All these women are 40-50-ish...not 14-15, but you'd never know it.

I hate to hate watch, but I guess when I find myself literally hating the characters most of the time, that's just what i'm doing.

[LuvMyShows]

On 6/18/2018 at 11:05 AM, luna1122 said:

The red carpet panic and all the whispered, freaked-out-faced urgency was like Carrie dragging all her friends out of bed and the tub or whatever cuz she just HAD to tell them that she'd kissed Aidan the second after it happened. All these women are 40-50-ish...not 14-15, but you'd never know it.

Then I'm very glad I never watched SATC!  The only show I watched that did that, was Grey's Anatomy, where they would literally run into an ongoing surgery to urgently blab about some personal "crisis"...and I stopped watching because of it.

This is the only show I hate watch.  There are some others that are at times an annoy-watch (Younger, The Affair), but nothing approaches this show...and it's been that way from the first season.

[voiceover]

Relieved somehow to find out there's other cranky people here.  I was worried.

"Aaaaaaaadrian!!!!!"*

*because I had to.  She looks good!

I only saw the last few minutes tonight (watching the rest tomorrow), because I like Paul and Lisa together and I'd actually like to see a Jake/Abby reunion.

I know I know: toxic!!! But.

Throughout the series, they've been the only couple with chem, and I need some reward for making it through all 5 seasons.

Especially because the lamps will never be mine.

Edited June 22, 2018 by voiceover

[gesundheit]

Way too Abby-centric an episode for me. She was completely insufferable. Her poor boyfriend. (I liked the Phoebe stuff, though.)

[HouseofBeck]

I am mostly just here now for Delia's dresses, which have a disheartening tendency to be sold out. Bah.

I was marginally interested in the Abby-Natalie dynamic, but that may have been because I was itching to see a real knock-down fight, even metaphorically. The Abby-Jake squabble wasn't quite it.

Phoebe's and Jo's characters seem to be trying the hardest to evolve. I am digging Jo/Albert and I didn't expect to.

I wish Abby would ditch her pained "Everything's fine!" smile and just LET IT ALL OUT. She always ends up destroying things anyway.

[voiceover]

Okay.  I watched all of it.  And I was stunned to find out, I liked it!!  I'm pretty sure I haven't liked an ep since...oh...Season 2?

3 was my hatewatch season, and last year was like hitting myself with a hammer.

But this one: I liked.

Abby, though.  What the fuck?  I said before, I'd be ok with a reconciliation, but I never thought they'd ever do that.  But how can anyone sit through her reax to Jake, after...how long have they been divorced? without wondering what the hell's going on.  She seemed more evolved in Season 2!

Poor Mike.  If I'd known he was a Royal, I'd have begged him to get out long before this.  Dude!  We need a BP guy.  Pls come home.

Phoebe's bro is scratching my Bad Boy itch.  I like him but I don't want to.

[bilgistic]

Abby EXHAUSTS me.

Oh, Delia. You want to "control" and "plan" everything and having a baby via sperm donor is how you will do it, eh? What about when that baby is an uncontrollable, unconsolable, screaming mess of vomit and explosive poop?

[voiceover]

7 hours ago, bilgistic said:

Abby EXHAUSTS me.

Oh, Delia. You want to "control" and "plan" everything and having a baby via sperm donor is how you will do it, eh? What about when that baby is an uncontrollable, unconsolable, screaming mess of vomit and explosive poop?

Hire a nanny, I'm guessing.

[LuvMyShows]

I am soooo hate-watching!  I just couldn't, with so many things from this ep, many of which just make no sense but are plot-furthering devices:

• Delia's flighty-ness about the whole baby thing, like it's just a fun lark
• Delia bringing the sperm donor printout with her to the classroom stalking and shoving it the face of some guy she doesn't even know, and Phoebe going along with the idea...what the hell kind of a reaction did they think it was going to get?
• Phoebe's kids immediately taking to Uncle Tony, so much that they make him a wonderful breakfast
• The kids not being skeeved out that Uncle Tony was in prison (no, not all children would think that is so cool)
• Phoebe getting started with giving a speech to her kids about Uncle Tony leaving when she didn't even know yet if that was true or not
• Jake and what's-her-name being invited to Jo's party
• At Jo's party, with an opportunity to sample food prepared by a famous chef, NO ONE volunteers for the taste test
• When no one volunteers for the taste test, Abby thinks that out of all the people in the whole party, it's best to volunteer someone who Jo barely knows along with someone Jo has never met before
• Jake insisting that because he pays child support, he gets a say in what Abby does to the house that's no longer his, and Abby caving and letting Jake force her into asking his permission for the drywall installation
• Jake telling Abby that he's going to propose...Abby then telling her friends and mother-in-law about the proposal...the mother-in-law blabbing about the proposal at Jo's party
• Everyone, always, conducting personal arguments in front of other people

But my #1 hate-watching moment from the entire show (drum-roll please) was when Abby, who had just been talking to Mike about how Jake and what's-her-name will only drop by to pick up the kids and be gone soon, changes her mind after seeing them/meeting the girl, and invites them to stay for dinner...and doesn't call Mike to warn him (which the Abby character actually would have, at the very least so that he could have changed his clothes for her look-at-my-great-and-handsome-boyfriend shtick).  She simply invited (literally!) loads and loads more drama, which is one of the many things I hate about the character.

On the plus side, no Barbara...sorry, but the way they shoe-horned her character in to the inner circle of the 4 women, has bothered me from the start.  It was a bit more realistic with how they did it when Alanna Ubach replaced Janeane Garofalo, because of the nature of their characters, but even then it was a bit of a stretch.   

[voiceover]

Hm.  Totally agree w/Phoebe's warning-off of Delia.  Tony should not get involved with *anyone*, period -- and the same is true of Frumpkis (sp?).  Both are recovering addicts (well, I'll lump Tony, as a parolee, right in there) and need to steer clear of relationships.  Tonight I flashed on 28 Days, and counselor Steve Buscemi advising Sandra Bullock & co. to "Get a plant first...then if it's still alive after a year, get a dog or cat; then if it's still alive after a couple years...then you can think about dating."  Tony! Frumpkis!!  FFS, get a plant!

Because: Jo, you're a moron.  And Delia -- I can see from your expression that Phoebe's lecture has turned Tony into the best kind of candy.  The forbidden kind.

Now I am going to defend Abby.  I know, I know -- I can't believe it either.  But Mike is leaving all this family stuff for her to smooth over, while he gets his professional jollies.  And if I had been Abby and seen the joking-around moment she saw, I prolly woulda tossed the fajitas at his ex's head.

Jake! Come back!  You're the only ex I want to see.

[luna1122]

All these women toying with their exes...wtf? I've seen my ex 3 times since our divorce and that was 3 times too many, and he's the last man on earth I'd want to sleep with (well, current political administration aside), but on this show, we have Barb, Jo, and Mike's ex all still apparently pining to some degree, and Abby too, on occasion. Is this more of a thing than I've personally experienced? Cuz gross.

Barb and her sis made up too easily, under these circumstances. Also gross.

Abby...I get her upset, honestly, but I would rather die than let the ex, let alone his co workers, see me behave like that: insecure, suspicious, jealous. No. Never let them see you like that. Have it out with Mike alone, but never with an audience. But Abby has no impulse control.

[LuvMyShows]

Hate-watching continues, in no particular order:

• Boy oh boy, these people sure go to their friends'/lovers' places of employment a lot, just for kicks...Phoebe went to Delia's to warn her off of Tony, Albert went to Jo's to touch base about the wrestling evening, and Abby went to Mike's to "bring him dinner" (not sure I believe it ever was about that in the first place).  Aside from the unrealistic-ness of that, at most big buildings after hours, there is security and you can't just walk in and go wherever you want like Abby did at Mike's; and at big law offices you also can't just walk in during the day to visit your friend unannounced.  I would imagine that given all the troubling incidents that have occurred nationwide, that places are even stricter than before, even when the people are known friends/family.
• It was also odd that Delia just expected Phoebe to come to her office at the drop of a hat to give her the shot. 
• And continuing my comment about the last episode, with so freaking many personal arguments in front of other people...we've got Barb and her sister at the school, and Abby and Mike at work (which was so OTT, even for queen-of-making-scenes Abby)
• I also thought it was weird/unrealistic that Barb's kid would leave the classroom to come out to the hall and ask why the three adults were whispering
• Just like last week, when Abby unnecessarily dragged drama into her house by inviting Jake and girlfriend to stay for dinner (especially when she had specifically said they would only be dropping by the pick up the kids), Jo tried (unsuccessfully) to drag drama into her house by inviting Frumpkis to crash at her place. 
• They made a big deal of showing the time (7:52) as Abby was getting pissed at Mike.  So when we cut to Delia going to Phoebe's house, it was still very early in the evening for her to expect that Phoebe would be home from her date.  And for Delia to then continue being willing to just wait potentially hours and hours at Phoebe's house if the date had gone well?   
• The real Delia character would be skeeved out by Tony, not turned on and intrigued.  He's been in prison, and she would know about the history of unreliability, drugs/drinking, etc.  She absolutely would not have pulled her dress up and panties down for basically a complete stranger, especially when, if she was really desperate for the shot, she could have revealed far less to expose the area that needed the shot. 
• Yes, Delia came off as a little flirty with Tony at Phoebe's house, but she did not "lead him on" the way Tony accused her.  His comment rang pretty entitled/potentially scary to me.  Again, it won't be a red flag to her, especially since, as voiceover pointed out above, Phoebe's lecture turned Tony into the "best kind of candy" 
• For Pete's sake, do people really dress the way Abby did to hang around the house and eat dinner?
• Totally unrealistic that two people like Mike and Abby would not have had a discussion prior to blending their families, about the issue of disciplining the other person's kids.  First, a conversation between Mike and Abby, then probably each with just their own, then one big conversation altogether with all the kids.
• Mike's brat daughter needed to be shut.down with the "whipped" comments.
• Abby was soooo absurdly a try-hard in those 'togetherness/happy family' scenes around the house.
• As usual, my #1 hate is reserved for Abby, and it's a tie between 1) her absolute idiocy and wildly overstepping her bounds at the restaurant (as well as being horribly unable to read a room) when she mentioned about possibly getting the mic that Mike's daughter wanted, and then later saying to the daughter that "I didn't realize your mom and dad felt so strong about not getting the mic"  2) the inane-ness of Abby's statement to Mike's daughter that "I'm going to put myself to bed".  Really?  Adults say "I'm going to bed."  Children, who are used to being put to bed by someone else, might say "I'm going to put myself to bed." 

I was confused about something that was said but I didn't quite catch.  When Barb and her sister were talking at Jo's restaurant, and the sister mentioned about meeting with the pastor, the sister said, "I still love him."  Then she said something, and even though I replayed it three times, I still couldn't understand what she was saying...the part in bold is what it sounded like, but I know it's wrong.  "Thought I could cheat yet, but I can't."  Does anyone know what she said?

[bilgistic]

Out here in reality, if a woman had acted the way Abby did "bringing dinner to Mike at work" and acting like a jealous teenager, her boyfriend would have ended the relationship.

[LuvMyShows]

Oh, forgot something.  When Barb and her sister were discussing the husband/ex's infidelity, neither mentioned the equally big problem of the lie that he told to his wife about Barb having made advances to him in a restroom, that he apparently heroically fended off.  This is sooo problematic because he used a lie to attempt to totally avoid having to take responsibility, which he thought he'd be able to get away with, which is doubly stupid because the sisters weren't still estranged, and it was very likely that the sis would confront Barb, and thereby hear Barb's side of the story and expose his lie.  It compounds the cheating, and raises the relationship red flags to another level.

On the fashion front, Abby's striped dress/culotte/whatever for her drinks/gab-session with the gals, was cut far too low, looked ridiculous, and required her to sit ram-rod straight on the couch in order for it not to cause a wardrobe malfunction.      

[luna1122]

1 hour ago, LuvMyShows said:

Oh, forgot something.  When Barb and her sister were discussing the husband/ex's infidelity, neither mentioned the equally big problem of the lie that he told to his wife about Barb having made advances to him in a restroom, that he apparently heroically fended off.  This is sooo problematic because he used a lie to attempt to totally avoid having to take responsibility, which he thought he'd be able to get away with, which is doubly stupid because the sisters weren't still estranged, and it was very likely that the sis would confront Barb, and thereby hear Barb's side of the story and expose his lie.  It compounds the cheating, and raises the relationship red flags to another level.

On the fashion front, Abby's striped dress/culotte/whatever for her drinks/gab-session with the gals, was cut far too low, looked ridiculous, and required her to sit ram-rod straight on the couch in order for it not to cause a wardrobe malfunction.      

Barb's sister clearly doesn't care about red flags. She slept with and married her sister's ex--what kind of man did she think he was already? And she's still staying with him. She's an idiot. No sympathy.

Delia has pretty bad taste in men already....generally, the more married, the better she likes them...so I dunno, I kind of think a hot felon is a better choice than some she's made before. I did NOT like his 'leading me on' statement, tho, either. Creepy. I didn't find it so odd that Delia called to ask Phoebe to help, as Phoebe had, the night before, told her to call anytime as she's 'great with needles'. I DID find it extremely odd and intrusive that she'd just go to her house to wait for her until she got home from her date.

Abby annoys me no end, but I actually found her 'I'm going to put myself to bed' kind of cute...deliberately childish, I think, but kind of cute. I rarely find anything she does cute, but that one didn't bother me. As much as she DOES bug me, I do still think the cast is good. They're far better than the material.

[HouseofBeck]

23 hours ago, LuvMyShows said:

**snipped just to spare eyeballs, loved your entire comment**

• I also thought it was weird/unrealistic that Barb's kid would leave the classroom to come out to the hall and ask why the three adults were whispering.
• The real Delia character would be skeeved out by Tony, not turned on and intrigued.  He's been in prison, and she would know about the history of unreliability, drugs/drinking, etc.  She absolutely would not have pulled her dress up and panties down for basically a complete stranger, especially when, if she was really desperate for the shot, she could have revealed far less to expose the area that needed the shot. 
• Yes, Delia came off as a little flirty with Tony at Phoebe's house, but she did not "lead him on" the way Tony accused her.  His comment rang pretty entitled/potentially scary to me.  Again, it won't be a red flag to her, especially since, as voiceover pointed out above, Phoebe's lecture turned Tony into the "best kind of candy" 
• Mike's brat daughter needed to be shut.down with the "whipped" comments.

I was confused about something that was said but I didn't quite catch.  When Barb and her sister were talking at Jo's restaurant, and the sister mentioned about meeting with the pastor, the sister said, "I still love him."  Then she said something, and even though I replayed it three times, I still couldn't understand what she was saying...the part in bold is what it sounded like, but I know it's wrong.  "Thought I could cheat yet, but I can't."  Does anyone know what she said?

Perhaps it was, "I thought I could leave him," and was extra poorly miked. I wonder how the sister's pastor helped her through the initial "slept with my sister's husband" blip in her moral career. /snark

I hated that "you led me on" comment by Tony, as up until then I had been slightly enjoying the hands-off attraction budding between them since they met. Delia gave that weird smile/smirk though, so I don't know if that meant she knew he didn't mean it...or was taking (false) responsibility? Skeeved me out.

I get Phoebe's response of avenging angel, but also thought, you were just told, by Tony himself, to let him be an adult. This also means letting him make mistakes. Trying to make up for the lost years that he quite wrongly accused her of in the first place is not going to magically happen. That said, I still like her character, and her more responsible attitude, even if misplaced.

Still digging Jo and Albert, and I hope neither of them mess it up just because Jo needs time to reframe how she thinks about Frumpkis.

Annoyed at Mike's brat daughter too. Perhaps I'm too far away from whatever age she is to remember what it would be like if I were forced into a sudden maniacal blended family with no rights or say about any of it... okay, I'd hate it. I'd hate it now! But I'd like to think I wouldn't go out of my way to be hideous. Eh, maybe I would. :P 

I don't like Colette, or her little speech inside Abby's home, or how Abby once again has nothing to say.

I didn't expect Abby to like the amazingly-perfectly-shot-and-lit video, as I didn't think it showed her as this stunning personality.

And Barb's kid is a lousy actor.

[LuvMyShows]

1 hour ago, HouseofBeck said:

And Barb's kid is a lousy actor.

I didn't expect Abby to like the amazingly-perfectly-shot-and-lit video, as I didn't think it showed her as this stunning personality.

Still digging Jo and Albert, and I hope neither of them mess it up just because Jo needs time to reframe how she thinks about Frumpkis.

Since I had so many major hates, I left off my minor ones.  One of them, is that IIRC, they were congratulating Barb on how well the kid did at the public speaking portion of his presentation (or something like that), and she said something like "Yeah, he's a natural".  I didn't get the impression that it was in any way sarcastic, nor that she was just blindly praising her kid...it sounded like we (the audience) were supposed to go along with that notion.  But at the practice session in the house beforehand, he was anything but natural, and we don't have any reason to believe his delivery changed for the actual presentation.

Another was that, in spite of how snippy/bratty Mike's daughter had been outwardly, of course deep down she really does like Abby (as seen in the video), and it's all warm fuzzies, almost instantly.

I really like Jo and Albert too...therefore the writers will not let them remain together.  

[SunnyBeBe]

So many things to gripe about, but, I suppose that the things that really annoyed me were:

Abby's freaking out over her ex proposing to another woman.  Will told her calmly what he thought of it and she still persist.  What the hell is wrong with her?  It's so annoying. If I saw my romantic partner behave that way over an ex.........it would be over, because, I'd know that he was a lunatic.  I really like Jake. I hope he steers clear of her.  The woman will ruin anything.    Didn't they have a storyline on that one time....before her mom died or something? I thought she got treatment or worked it out or something. 

Delia getting this idea of Phoebe's brother as a sperm donor.  I think this is somehow supposed to turn out good, because he is a drug addict, convicted felon with a poor tract record.  What could go wrong? lol  But, it'll all be worth it, because, it can expand the family and they (Phoebe her kids, Delia and the baby) can share holidays and car pool to the prison to visit daddy.

I don't mind Barbara, because, I find the other characters so frustrating that I welcome any distraction. 

Edited June 30, 2018 by SunnyBeBe

[TVForever]

16 hours ago, luna1122 said:

Barb's sister clearly doesn't care about red flags. She slept with and married her sister's ex--what kind of man did she think he was already? And she's still staying with him. She's an idiot. No sympathy.

Delia has pretty bad taste in men already....generally, the more married, the better she likes them...so I dunno, I kind of think a hot felon is a better choice than some she's made before. I did NOT like his 'leading me on' statement, tho, either. Creepy. I didn't find it so odd that Delia called to ask Phoebe to help, as Phoebe had, the night before, told her to call anytime as she's 'great with needles'. I DID find it extremely odd and intrusive that she'd just go to her house to wait for her until she got home from her date.

Abby annoys me no end, but I actually found her 'I'm going to put myself to bed' kind of cute...deliberately childish, I think, but kind of cute. I rarely find anything she does cute, but that one didn't bother me. As much as she DOES bug me, I do still think the cast is good. They're far better than the material.

And to make matters worse, he wasn't Barb's ex when the sister slept with him. He was still her husband, and he in fact left Barb for the sister.

That's why I got giggly when Sister (anyone remember her name?) got in Barb's face over Husband's lie about Barb seducing him in a school bathroom. First of all, does that even seem like something Barbara would do, and second, Bish- you slept with your sister's husband, broke up her family, and married him. You're lucky Barbara hasn't KILLED you. 

[HouseofBeck]

11 hours ago, TVForever said:

And to make matters worse, he wasn't Barb's ex when the sister slept with him. He was still her husband, and he in fact left Barb for the sister.

That's why I got giggly when Sister (anyone remember her name?) got in Barb's face over Husband's lie about Barb seducing him in a school bathroom. First of all, does that even seem like something Barbara would do, and second, Bish- you slept with your sister's husband, broke up her family, and married him. You're lucky Barbara hasn't KILLED you. 

Barb's sister will tell herself anything to keep that creep bound to her, ugh. 

[Victoria Winters]

She says "I thought I could shake it but I cant"

[voiceover]

Ugh.  Well, the good news is: the lamps are back!!!!

And Abby's throwdown to Mike's ex was the first time this season I had respect for her.  Succinct and necessary; too bad it was in a failing cause -- or what looks like a failing cause.

As for the rest...Doesn't Frumpkis have a fucking sponsor??  That's all kinds of wrong, though I could see that kiss coming from even before he came back to town.  Jo continues to be a *moron.  

And of course Tony got Delia pregnant.  Another plot twist I saw coming, from the moment she first laid eyes on him.  But he's another one, like Frumpkis, needs a sponsor.   I kick myself for very nearly buying into his redemption.  But hey -- I was once engaged to a bad boy too.

How are they getting Jake & Abby back together in two episodes?  Will it be another Big/Carrie/Paris deal?

*eta: bahahaha...just reread the thread, and I called Jo a moron last week, so obviously, I can think of no other words.

Edited July 6, 2018 by voiceover

[bilgistic]

Everything that happened tonight was telegraphed from light years away. Of course Delia is pregnant by Tony because of course they are having sex despite it being the dumbest thing they could do, and Phoebe literally told Delia not to have sex with her brother. Of course "The Fury" is hot for Phoebe because they are two synchronous nomadic souls. Of course Mike discussing boundaries with his ex backfired and Mike and Abby are now getting his kids full-time. Of course Frumpkis kissed Jo after their kid survived a car accident she had while she was learning to drive because of course she did.

Mike's kids are OBNOXIOUS. Why doesn't HE ever parent them? I didn't think any kid could be worse than Charlie, but those two are pushing it.

ETA: I can barely stand to watch Abby/Lisa Edelstein. Her grimace/constipation face when she's conveying basically any emotion gives me secondhand embarrassment. Also, I wish she would stop wearing "clothes" that look like giant wadded-up napkins.

Edited July 6, 2018 by bilgistic

[voiceover]

"two synchronous nomadic souls"... Genius!!  I am still laughing my ass off.   

When Phoebe paints the self-portrait, that's what she should call it.

[gesundheit]

I was actually kind of glad about Phoebe and the new girl because I'd been wondering if the writers forgot that Phoebe was supposed to be bisexual. They'd really ignored that since the first (?) season and I thought it was odd that she was on dating apps only looking for men.

Besides that, what else is there really to say? Abby continues to be intolerable.

[LuvMyShows]

Not as much to hate, and not as passionately, but still plenty:

• When Abby was Face-Timing (or whatever) with Barbara before the meeting, and Barbara spouted some bland mush about how they need to up their game, their brand, take it to the next level, maybe revisit sponsorships, Abby then says, "That Barbara...she really pushes us, bold, big..."  Really?  That is bold, big, and pushing?
• Abby tossing around that Idea pillow at work, because, of course she did.  Also, why weren't those ideas brought up at a regular time in previous meetings?  They weren't the kind of crazy ideas that would need the 'cover' of having only been mentioned due to the off-the-wall nature of the idea generating.
• Why on earth would Delia have kept the failure of the eggs a secret (other than as a plot device vis Tony), given that all these people do is share, over-share, and over-share some more? 
• Abby tells Mike that Tess/The Fury is anti-establishment and a bit of a rebel...so she thinks the best thing to do is invite her to a formal-ish cocktail party in an upscale swanky home?
• Inviting Tony to the party...really?
• At the cocktail party, Phoebe finds Tess alone under the stairs...way to be a great host, Abby, and show your potential sponsoree (not sure what else to call it) how well you'll look out for her
• I guess actually enforcing boundaries is just.too.tough, so Abby not only doesn't send Colette back into the car immediately, but invites her into the house, and then invites her to socialize at the party (WTAF?!?!)
• After having created the bad situation vis Colette and the kids, Abby for once handles something in a calm, rational way, but of course does it in front of everyone at the cocktail party, and of course it impresses the potential sponsoree
• So Tony got fired because of his attitude, and has been lying to Phoebe, and Delia is still DTF?  
• At the photo shoot, there is no way that any photographer would have been just passively clicking away while Tess/The Fury looked so stilted...and then all these people come up and interrupt and say nothing to the photographer about interrupting 
• The writers chose the wrong loosen-up activity for Phoebe to cajole Tess/The Fury into a the photo shoot, because although the actress playing Phoebe looked pretty comfortable doing the dancing, the actress playing Tess/The Fury looked very uncomfortable, stiff, and wooden, in spite of the smile
• At the post-race interview session, no f*ing way would Tess/The Fury have just walked away from the press, to go over to Phoebe and plant a passionate kiss on her 
• I'm not sure what the writers want us to think about Tony...were we supposed to believe he really had changed?  Are we supposed to feel sorry for him that some people won't hire him cause he's an ex-con, but yet he gets fired for taking an attitude at a perfectly good job where "the pressure is getting really old", and then lies about it and thinks he's justified because he feels like Phoebe is "breathing down his neck"?
• What happened to Delia being "allergic to sperm"?  Can a pregnancy test detect pregnancy after only two weeks of having sex?
• If Frumpkis were really successfully working the program like he's supposed to be, he would never have kissed Jo.

And finally, last week I said, "I really like Jo and Albert too...therefore the writers will not let them remain together." [Sigh]   

[TiredMe]

So much stupidity. And yet at the end when they said two more episode, I thought aw no! I need to continue my hate watching. Lol

delia getting preggers by Tony was so telegraphed and cliche. Phoebe searching for a man, but then a woman! Beyond obvious. And of course Frumkis and what’s her face still have the feelings. I cannot eye roll that enough. Permanent eye roll. I guess it’s time to end it.

[gingerella]

This show was interesting the first season and a half or so...now? It sucks ass. Seriously, just about every show I loved in season one sucks now.  The characters are all so played out now, it's like watching a show phone it in with as little effort as humanly possible. If I was the showrunner I would be embarrassed to show this schlock to the public. We deserve better after all these years. Uch!

[bilgistic]

7 hours ago, LuvMyShows said:

 

• Abby tossing around that Idea pillow at work, because, of course she did.  Also, why weren't those ideas brought up at a regular time in previous meetings?  They weren't the kind of crazy ideas that would need the 'cover' of having only been mentioned due to the off-the-wall nature of the idea generating.
• Inviting Tony to the party...really?
• So Tony got fired because of his attitude, and has been lying to Phoebe, and Delia is still DTF?
• The writers chose the wrong loosen-up activity for Phoebe to cajole Tess/The Fury into a the photo shoot, because although the actress playing Phoebe looked pretty comfortable doing the dancing, the actress playing Tess/The Fury looked very uncomfortable, stiff, and wooden, in spite of the smile
• I'm not sure what the writers want us to think about Tony...were we supposed to believe he really had changed?  Are we supposed to feel sorry for him that some people won't hire him cause he's an ex-con, but yet he gets fired for taking an attitude at a perfectly good job where "the pressure is getting really old", and then lies about it and thinks he's justified because he feels like Phoebe is "breathing down his neck"?
• What happened to Delia being "allergic to sperm"?  Can a pregnancy test detect pregnancy after only two weeks of having sex?

Responding to some of your points...

If I ever work at a place where someone starts tossing an "idea" pillow around, I'm walking out like:

And yes, why TF would Abby invite TONY to her work function??

I. Do. Not. Understand. Why. We are supposed to believe Delia would ever have sex with Tony. No. She is into ambitious men with money and cachet. And she is having unprotected sex with him--a former convict and drug addict. WHAT. No.

That dancing situation at the photoshoot was so cringey. It's obvious they weren't dancing to the song that we heard, but could the show try to make it match up a little better with their movements or get a song that does match? I get that there are licensing issues, but it can't be that hard to find a song that syncs up to the one the actors danced to on set.

I hate Tony. He is the epitome of an entitled, privileged, young white man. Dude has done nothing since being in prison and is quitting jobs and turning down job offers...and gets with an incredibly hot, successful woman, who he impregnates with his magic sperm, I GUESS.

This show.

[SunnyBeBe]

Does anyone understand why the field in writing for television shows isn't more competitive?  Apparently, anyone can do it and it doesn't even matter if you do it VERY poorly.  They don't seem to give a damn.  It's almost like the writers left some notes on the conference room table, with a note to the maintenance staff to just wrap it up FOR them.  And to not take too much time with it, because who really gives a ship anyway.   I would think that writers would be so happy to have a great job, especially, when you have a show with a great premise and good cast.  I just can't figure it out.  Such a waste.  It reminds me of my sentiments with the writing of the series Nashville.

[bilgistic]

Maybe the bar is low because of the proliferation of "reality" shows like the Kardashian and Housewives franchises. Many people are satisfied with cheap, manufactured drama under the guise of "reality" so why should writers work harder at creating quality fictional or non-fictional scripted television?

You'd think that with all the competition for viewers among all the different platforms, shows would be better--more tightly written with more clever plots.

[SunnyBeBe]

On 7/7/2018 at 5:17 PM, bilgistic said:

Maybe the bar is low because of the proliferation of "reality" shows like the Kardashian and Housewives franchises. Many people are satisfied with cheap, manufactured drama under the guise of "reality" so why should writers work harder at creating quality fictional or non-fictional scripted television?

You'd think that with all the competition for viewers among all the different platforms, shows would be better--more tightly written with more clever plots.

You may have a point.  Clever and creative writing for tv series is fast becoming a rarity.  There are few things out there, but, then they run their course and end. 

I suppose that the actors are under contract and don't want to be labeled as difficult.  You know that it must sting to act out some of this garbage.  It hurts me to see them have to act it out.  Like the last season of Dexter and Nip Tuck.  Just excruciatingly painful.  But, I guess they just do their job and pray that viewers know that it's not them who wrote the hot mess. WITH THE EXCEPTION of Edlestein and Adlestein, who appear to have been involved in the writing.  Ugggghhhh....

https://www.imdb.com/title/tt2817246/fullcredits?ref_=tt_cl_sm#cast

Did the poor writing cause Garofalo to exit? She was awesome, but, left so early.  

[chick binewski]

On 6/22/2018 at 4:14 AM, voiceover said:

I only saw the last few minutes tonight (watching the rest tomorrow), because I like Paul and Lisa together and I'd actually like to see a Jake/Abby reunion.

I know I know: toxic!!! But.

Throughout the series, they've been the only couple with chem, and I need some reward for making it through all 5 seasons.

They really had great give & take and I don't think the show ever came close to recapturing the bittersweetness of the first season - scenes like Jake making the school film were memorable but very, very rare.

I also lament the gone too soon-ness of Brandon Jay McClaren. I thought he and Beau Garrett were good together and his relapse seemed like the lazy writing some of us have referenced here so often.   

On 6/24/2018 at 11:35 AM, bilgistic said:

Abby EXHAUSTS me.

I think I'm missing key plot points because lately the minute she starts talking I find something around the house that MUST get done. At 10:45pm on a Thursday night.

 

On 7/5/2018 at 11:12 PM, voiceover said:

Ugh.  Well, the good news is: the lamps are back!!!!

I do enjoy seeing I am not the only one with specific home decor porn fixations whilst watching television.

 

On 7/7/2018 at 1:48 AM, bilgistic said:

I. Do. Not. Understand. Why. We are supposed to believe Delia would ever have sex with Tony. No. She is into ambitious men with money and cachet. And she is having unprotected sex with him--a former convict and drug addict. WHAT. No.

That dancing situation at the photoshoot was so cringey. It's obvious they weren't dancing to the song that we heard, but could the show try to make it match up a little better with their movements or get a song that does match? I get that there are licensing issues, but it can't be that hard to find a song that syncs up to the one the actors danced to on set.

Last episode the only conclusion I could come to is the show actively hates Necar Zadegan. Between the brother and the aggressive nasal shots (and I think she's stunning) I don't understand what they're doing with her.

 

The entire Phoebe storyline is leaving me cold. And to make one more SATC comparison about the show - no matter how terrible the protagonist acted (without repercussions...or at least not getting called out on shrill, self-indulgent behavior) I could overlook it because the heart of the show to me was the friendships. Here, they're all either judgy & piercing with each other OR they're supporting bad decisions as "living your truth". I think it must have been challenging to write & act over a dozen episodes over a few months and have it represent 3 separate seasons, but based on the potential GGTD showed in S1 I believe it deserved to be handled with more attention and/or care than what we're seeing now.

[HouseofBeck]

I've stuck with this show so long despite all reason, and even knowing it's a wreck, I just keep hoping it'll somehow get spectacular. Oh well, got this instead.

Abby's response to Colette was nowhere near powerful enough to make Tess recant her No Corporate Ever stance. And yet she did. How fortunate that Abby will always let people who treat her poorly right back in!

Delia & Tony, summed up:
Delia: I'm not a liar
Tony: Yes you are
Delia: *stymied*

And repeat. Are we supposed to think that this unrepentant ass who just slouched into town has stunning insight into Delia's soul? Arrgh!

Right now I wouldn't mind seeing Jo's daughter undergo a complete personality change akin to blowing up the entire family unit. I am still rooting for Jo/Albert. Maybe there's fanfiction.

A real crime: Barbara mostly off-screen. 

Edited July 10, 2018 by HouseofBeck

[bichonblitz]

On 7/10/2018 at 11:36 AM, SunnyBeBe said:

Did the poor writing cause Garofalo to exit? She was awesome, but, left so early.  

If that was the reason, she was spot on. 

God, I hate this show. I love to hate this show. 

I skipped the last half of last season's episodes but coming back now I see Lisa E. still has that shit eating grin on her face at all times. Ugh, she is the most annoying person on TV. 

Other things that haven't changed:

Abby's obnoxious ex. No bud, it's not your house or your wife anymore so STFU 

Jo still wearing the wig

Delia and Phoebe are still incredibly gorgeous

Barb never did and never will belong on this show

[gesundheit]

Abby really is the worst. I can't believe she was saying a teenage girl locking herself in the bedroom was outrageous behavior -- that's the most normal thing in the world! And I'm sorry, if you invite a man and his children to live with you, you're going to have to do some parenting when he's not home. How dumb is she? I guess the upside is that she realizes it was a mistake, but damn. That's a pretty big mistake.

I do think Phoebe and her new lady are hot. Sue me! Of course it doesn't matter because there's only one episode left, so of course we won't see a relationship there after having to sit through all the others. I can't decide if I'm happy or sad there's only one left -- I might be a LITTLE sad because hate-watching can be fun?

[LuvMyShows]

My second-to-last opportunity for a good old fashioned GGTD hate list!

• From the conference room scene with the branding woman, she likes Lady Parts because it's 'bold and edgy'?  Really?  Also, the super-extreme un-professionalism of Abby balking about the presentation being in three days because she has ''so many things happening on so many fronts in my life"?  Girl, no. SMH
• So Abby had all that time, but was reduced to having to cram all her work into being at home and at night, where, surprise surprise, life interrupted her!
• Delia would never have gotten as distracted as she was in that client/divorce meeting, and would never have been so flippant to the client afterward about her debacle, and that's even if the client hadn't been a major client like this one apparently was.
• It made no sense to not have Mike's family come to the Lily-college acceptance dinner.  I could understand if Abby wanted it to be just Lily and her, and I could understand wanting a family-of-origin-only event for something that was a family tradition, like going to see the first blockbuster movie of summer, or something like that.  But this was par for the course for blended family celebration causes.
• So when Abby has a major work crisis where she needs ideas, she calls her three girlfriends to work on it with her, and not her co-owner and her staff?  And once again, the women are able to drop everything and come running (with Jo doing it on vacation).
• Abby saying the 'jade eggs' thing to the waiter was so unreasonably OTT, even for Abby, and it was just stupid and weird.
• The camera work was very odd how they kept showing Jo on Facetime (or whatever it was) at their get-together.
• Delia was talking to Albert and urging him to work it out with Jo, given how long they've been together.  Haven't they been together less than a year, in 'show time'?
•  Phoebe bringing Tony, to a bar, on her date, because "he doesn't get out much"?  Are you kidding me?  First of all, DUH, he has no business going to bar.  Second, if she's worried about him getting out more, she and he could go literally almost anywhere they want any night they want, given that her kids apparently disappear and reappear by magic, and, she's still got household help to watch them when they do reappear.
• And by the way, what happened to that austerity kick that Phoebe had to be on because of the cutback in child support due to her marriage to that artist? 
• The Simone character never would have asked Abby to take her to the hair appt.
• As on other shows, I hate "sucker's choice" that are portrayed as so dramatic.  Abby could have called Lily, and cancelled on the dinner, consoled Simone for a very good amount of time, and then still made it to the movie with Lily.  She didn't have to ditch one for the other.
• Jake's Facetime scolding of Abby about whatever she said about Emerson at dinner, which then got interrupted by Abby's first breakdown, was so fake sounding.  I wondered what was going on even before the Abby interrupted...Paul Adelstein didn't go a good job with his read of the lines.
• It was very odd when Phoebe gave Tony the little lecture about Delia, because Phoebe said, "You two have some shit, not me, you two" (emphasis was hers).  But no one had been saying that it was Phoebe's shit, for her to need to emphasize that it wasn't.
• Good for Mike for speaking truth to Abby about how she wants the happy family time with game night etc., but not the hard part.
• As much as these women blab to each other, no way would Delia keep secret about the pregnancy or the paternity.
• Good god, Delia is not a teen-age girl, that is avoiding responding to the boy-next-door's texts because she can't decide whether to go out with him or wait for the BMOC who hasn't asked her out yet.  She is a grown-ass woman, who wouldn't just keep ignoring Tony's texts and calls.
• So now Delia's concerned that Tony just got out of prison and can't hold down a job, but when her p*ssy was calling the shots, that didn't matter so much.
• Abby's breakdown at the work presentation was so cringe-worthy.  And I know it was supposed to be uplifting because of how she used the breakdown to make a point, but I was massively confused, because she still didn't have a product pitch, and although her rant sounded like she was against all the vagina-oriented products because of the message they send, it sounded like that's the products they were sticking with when she talked with Mike afterwards.  Or maybe it's that the difference will be that the Lady Parts message for those same products will be uplifting and accepting rather than shameful?
• Abby uprooting everyone's lives by suggesting that Mike move in, and then declaring it wasn't a good idea once they actually experienced real life, only proves that Colette was right!

And a side note that I noticed...good job casting the actresses who play Simone and Colette, because they very much resemble each other.  Likewise with the actor for Charlie, who looks like he could easily be Lisa Edelstein's son.

[bichonblitz]

What's with all the facetiming bullshit? We get it, already. It's 2018 and these ladies are soooooo hip.

@LuvMyShows fantastic post. I wish I could like it a gazillion times!

[chick binewski]

5 hours ago, bichonblitz said:

What's with all the facetiming bullshit? We get it, already. It's 2018 and these ladies are soooooo hip.

It seems like the show couldn't coordinate everyone's schedules towards the end of filming. At least, that's the only thing I could come up with while watching the penultimate episode that chose to show characters on phones instead of in person.

And I like James Lesure a lot, but Mike & Abby don't make me care at all about where they end up. I would have preferred if they let Abby go it alone for the season and bring back some of the other actors who added a bit more to the show. 

[bilgistic]

On the Bravo app, there's a clip that has Barb amd Abby meeting in that weird bar/co-working space that looks like it might be a converted warehouse in which they're always hanging out. And it has waitstaff. Anyway, Barb tells Abby she has accepted a job as a co-anchor at one of the TV stations where she did a segment to promote Lady Parts. Because that totally happens. People with zero broadcasting or journalism experience totally get TV anchor jobs (not counting YouTube "celebrities" and the like who get jobs on shows about web videos or the hot goss of the day).

Just about everything in this episode pissed me off. The Abby and Simone situation burned me up. Simone is a teenage girl. Teenage girls are a boiling stew of out-of-control hormones and feelings. I was a teenage girl once and I felt crazy all the time. My mom and I fought horribly. It was nothing for me to slam my door and stay in my room with my boombox and practice dancing for hours and not come out for anything. Abby acting like Simone sitting in her room was a crisis situation is one of the dumbest things I've seen on this show, and that's saying a lot.

Hey Phoebe, Delia's baby that Tony happens to have fathered is not your problem. Delia has plenty of money and resources to take care of a baby by herself (remember when she was going to get a sperm donor??) and obviously doesn't want Tony involved. You get to be an auntie to Delia's baby. Enjoy it.

These people exhaust me!

[catrice2]

Gosh I lost a  whole post.on another device basically cosigning  what everybody else just said. I have really disliked this show since the first season but  oddly enough kept coming back to hate watch.

 

Barbara added nothing to the show except to I guess show their diversity and rely on the old overweight sassy black woman stereotype with a chip on her shoulder.

The only thing I had to add to what has already being written is that the whole lesbian relationships for  Phoebe seems Rushed and  Forced. The woman comes off as predatory instead of confident and aggressive and it's kind of uncomfortable to watch.

I thought they would end  the show by showing some growth for at least one these women but they all seem to be reverting to the same stupid behaviors that have been going on since the show started.

The worst was Abby now telling now telling Mike that living together was a mistake or better yet Delia sleeping with Tony and getting pregnant by him conveniently after the IVF didn't work

Edited July 15, 2018 by catrice2

[LuvMyShows]

4 minutes ago, catrice2 said:

I thought they would end  the show by showing some growth for these women but they all seem to be reverting to the same stupid behaviors that have been going on since the show started.

Well said...