S05.E08: The Bubble

[ElectricBoogaloo]

Quote

After the holidays, Liza adjusts to a new normal. Maggie confronts buried issues. Kelsey course-corrects her love life.

[voiceover]

That there? was some niiiiiiiiice lovin'.

Edited August 1, 2018 by voiceover

[TGinKY]

Co-signed

[Claudia Kishi]

How was Pauline so sure there was something going on with Charles and Liza? I mean, he was nasty and pissed at her at the launch party or whatever that was, so it was clear there was something amiss, but at that point C & L were nowhere near being together. I love how Pauline conveniently forgets that the reason Charles/Carl moved on is because she walked out. What an ahole. 

[SailorGirl]

I'll hang out in that bubble any damn time . . . all the damn time . . . that kiss on the hand when they were in the sea glass carousel?? The subtle little hand slide across the back??

Oh hellz yeah. . . .that was just dead sexy . . . 

[echo.Echo.ECHO]

Lauren is, like, the best friend ever.

[dubbel zout]

8 minutes ago, Claudia Kishi said:

How was Pauline so sure there was something going on with Charles and Liza?

Didn't she figure it out somewhere along the line? I thought Pauline confronted Liza about it.

Pauline's marriage was in trouble long before Liza came along.

[Claudia Kishi]

54 minutes ago, dubbel zout said:

Didn't she figure it out somewhere along the line? I thought Pauline confronted Liza about it.

Pauline's marriage was in trouble long before Liza came along.

I don’t recall a scene like that? Maybe I missed it. Regardless, she’s dellusional if she thinks her marriage ending has anything to do with Liza. Charles was dating another woman a couple seasons ago. He wasn’t sitting around waiting for Pauline to come back. 

[Bort]

1 hour ago, Claudia Kishi said:

How was Pauline so sure there was something going on with Charles and Liza? I mean, he was nasty and pissed at her at the launch party or whatever that was, so it was clear there was something amiss, but at that point C & L were nowhere near being together.

Pauline could tell from the heated way Charles and Liza were looking at each other. She had a look of realization on her face. Then she made some huffy noise and flounced off.

[stormborn]

God I wanted to stay in "The Bubble" forever lol. I know what it's like to be caught up in the throes of a new relationship and how every touch is something magical and Sutton and Peter really did an amazing job with that tonight. You could feel the connection between Charles and Liza. And while the sea carousal was a little cheesy, I'd made me grin like a fool. 

Also I'm happy we didn't have to wait for the sex scene, I was losing my mind three minutes in. As a Charles/Liza shipper, I'm very happy. This did not disappoint. 

As for the rest of the episode? I actually enjoyed most of it as well. I'm happy the show has chosen to underscore the fact that Jake is in fact a snake and Zane, for all his braggadocio, was not willing to throw Kelsey under the bus to advance his career. It may be that he's finally caught real feelings for her. So I'm a bit more interested to see how that whole dynamic plays out. And I couldn't care less last week lol. 

Love, love loved Maggie and Malkie getting back together. Not unlike Diana, I think it's about time too that Maggie settles down with someone she can be herself with and I think Malkie can do that for her. She deserves to be happy. 

Also I'm continuing to just adore Maggie's friendship with Josh. I just need them to do more with Josh in general cause Nico is too damn endearing to not fully utilize.  

And finally, I'm not naive enough to believe that there won't be issues with Charles and Liza in upcoming episodes but dear god, can Pauline just go away?? I'm so sick of her and her BS. She left Charles and her kids and went on some discount bin Eat, Pray, Love "journey" and now she's found herself she wants an insta-family again. It doesn't work that way. She should be happy she was able to spin that crap into a best-seller and can make money off it. And finally, Liza had nothing to do with her marriage not working. So she needs to look in the mirror and take responsibility and move on.... 

[retrograde]

Charles grew that beard in 10 days? 

[Yeah No]

OK, I think this was worth the wait as a Charles shipper, and it also helps knowing that the episode was probably supposed to air around the holidays last year, so it wasn't intentional to keep us waiting this long.

Pauline - how predictable that she would come back just to throw a wrench into our sweet little bubble.....Show, come on already, give us a break, we've suffered long enough for this!  How did she know?  I suppose she could have suddenly become observant, but also Charles could have let something slip in her presence as he hasn't been acting very discreet.  Some of the office encounters between him and Liza have been pretty darned risky, so how careful is he really?  Not so much.  I think that's why Liza wanted to talk to him - to tell him he has to dial it back at work big time.  She is clearly uncomfortable with the riskiness as much as she's loving it.  He's acting like a 14 year old, which should be cute and romantic but in this case it just feels immature and unwise.  Not that I mean to burst the bubble, mind you.  I've waited long enough for it, dammit, so I'm willing to forgive that....for now.

I'm wondering how those that thought Charles and Liza had zero chemistry feel now.  Hahaha, I knew they could prove that wrong in one hot episode!  We just had another layer of Charles's onion pulled back for us to contemplate.  Still waters run deep.  I want to dive in.

Yours from the bubble,

Yeah No

Edited August 1, 2018 by Yeah No

[Aulty]

Again, cute episode - some great visuals.

Pauline can just go away. The biggest problem with her and Charles is that they probably never had a conversation about why their marriage fell apart and why he does not want to get back together. I would never think that he didn't play a part in them breaking apart, but Pauline's behavior suggest she does not understand how much she contributed.

Happy for Maggie - and a shiny friendship-award to Lauren - that girl is growing on me lately.

The Kelsey/Zane story is the weakest link for me at the moment.

[HunterHunted]

6 hours ago, stormborn said:

I'm happy the show has chosen to underscore the fact that Jake is in fact a snake and Zane, for all his braggadocio, was not willing to throw Kelsey under the bus to advance his career. It may be that he's finally caught real feelings for her. So I'm a bit more interested to see how that whole dynamic plays out.

I said last week that Kelsey only dates dicks and this week...Jake shows himself to be a petulant dick. What an obnoxious manipulative snot. That's some real coercive shit that he pulled. I'm glad she's starting to realize her screwed up pattern.

How loveless and passionless was Charles' marriage? He's acting like a teenager.

[skotnikov]

The scene in the restaurant with Pauline and Diane was funny, and Kelsey's plot development was ok. But when you start to invest in secondary characters more than you should, and the main character is not important anymore – it means trouble for the show. Liza/Charles fans can be happy, but once they copulated Liza with her boss, the conflict disappeared. It will be like bad scrambled eggs from now on.      

Edited August 3, 2018 by skotnikov

[Winston Wolfe]

1 hour ago, skotnikov said:

The scene in the restaurant with Pauline and Diane was funny, and Kelsey's plot development was ok. But when you start to invest in secondary characters more than you should, and the main character is not important anymore – it means trouble for the show. Liza/Charles fans can be happy, bit once they copulated Liza with her boss, the conflict disappeared. It will be like bad scrambled eggs from now on.      

From a narrative standpoint, they kind of had to pair Liza and Charles at this point.  So many major characters (except for Diana) know about Liza gas-lighting the company that there's virtually no dramatic tension in that S/L anymore.

Question to the Board: was Lauren always gay (bi?) or is this a recent development?  Either way, the character has become much more interesting of late.

[buffyshrugged]

Quote

10 minutes ago, Winston Wolfe said:

Question to the Board: was Lauren always gay (bi?) or is this a recent development?  Either way, the character has become much more interesting of late.

 

Yes, Lauren dated Maggie at one point, and then tried for awhile to date a cute male doctor but found it too vanilla.  

I think even when C and L together, there is room for plenty of conflict. Clearly, Kelsey has a problem with Liza dating the boss, I don't see Pauline totally going away, and they still need to deal with L's age externally at some point.

[Winston Wolfe]

1 minute ago, buffyshrugged said:

Yes, Lauren dated Maggie at one point, and then tried for awhile to date a cute male doctor but found it too vanilla

Thanks BUFFYSHRUGGED!  I never paid much attention to Lauren.

[skotnikov]

21 minutes ago, Winston Wolfe said:

From a narrative standpoint, they kind of had to pair Liza and Charles at this point.  So many major characters (except for Diana) know about Liza gas-lighting the company that there's virtually no dramatic tension in that S/L anymore.

Question to the Board: was Lauren always gay (bi?) or is this a recent development?  Either way, the character has become much more interesting of late.

Gaslighting is quite a strong word for Liza's lies. Or do you think the big publishing house with its ageist politics is a victim here? 

And no, every conflict from now on will be ridiculous. It's now insignificant weither Diana will know Liza's real age. And the only possible conflict is that Charles has sex with his employe (and Diana saw that he raised her bonus, regardless of what happened with that check). But we've seen it many times already. 

[Winston Wolfe]

4 hours ago, skotnikov said:

Gaslighting is quite a strong word for Liza's lies. Or do you think the big publishing house with its ageist politics is a victim here? 

I partially agree with your take on the conflict factor. The crapping-where-you-eat things seems to be having repercussions rather quickly.

On your other observation, two weeks ago, Kelsey herself told Liza "You've been gas-lighting an entire company for years!  Let me have one secret."

With my head of gray hair, I'm really sensitive to the ageism issue.  ;0)

Edited August 1, 2018 by Winston Wolfe
Clarity

[MostlyC]

I thought they way they filmed the Charles/Liza scene was definitely hot- and the kiss on the Carousel was tre romantic.  Still wanting Josh as the endgame.  Surprised that the ex-wife isn’t staying around to make more trouble, or another play for Charles.

But I also thought the beard (10 days?  Really?) was perhaps a nod to Josh’s scruff, and the anything you can do I can do better.  Don’t know if that was the intent, or if the actor really wanted a beard.

Love Diana and her cleanse.  Ha!

Lauren has always been Bisexual.  She’s such a great character.

Glad Kelsey put the brakes on with whathisname, but damn, I was surprised that he was such a snake.  

[Boofish]

12 hours ago, Claudia Kishi said:

How was Pauline so sure there was something going on with Charles and Liza? I mean, he was nasty and pissed at her at the launch party or whatever that was, so it was clear there was something amiss, but at that point C & L were nowhere near being together. I love how Pauline conveniently forgets that the reason Charles/Carl moved on is because she walked out. What an ahole. 

Oh thank goodness. I thought it was just me because my thought was "when did Pauline find out about Charles and Liza"

Also, SWOOOON. I mean just SWOON. *insert witty engaging comment here* And because it can't be said enough SWOON

[thesupremediva1]

10 hours ago, stormborn said:

And finally, I'm not naive enough to believe that there won't be issues with Charles and Liza in upcoming episodes but dear god, can Pauline just go away?? I'm so sick of her and her BS.

This. I'm not a Charles/Liza shipper by any means, but the "wife" better not be the reason they split up. That marriage was dead long before Charles and Liza ever met, and Pauline is not a compelling character. There are only so many times we can flog this dead horse. I have a million more interesting reasons Charles and Liza don't and won't work - the ex-wife is not one of them. Move along, Pauline. Permanent marriage vacation for you. 

[Lsk02]

I’m not buying that Diana did not pick up on the subtext and daggers going on between Liza and Pauline right in front of her. She’s way too smart for that, and even had to tell Liza to stop rewriting Pauline’s story. Hell, even Tara (sorry, no idea what her Younger character’s name is) should have figured out what was going on. Assistant?! Come on. 

[SailorGirl]

11 hours ago, stormborn said:

Also I'm happy we didn't have to wait for the sex scene, I was losing my mind three minutes in. As a Charles/Liza shipper, I'm very happy. This did not disappoint. 

 

I was three minutes late to turn it on and kept waiting the whole episode for that and just figured it was in an upcoming episode. I just went back and watched the first three minutes on demand -- who knew you pack all that intensity into three minutes?!?!!!   :-D

[Mabinogia]

2 hours ago, buffyshrugged said:

Kelsey has a problem with Liza dating the boss

As well she should. Every time Charles sides with Liza over her, or suggests she check with Liza about some decision, whether true or not, it is going to appear he did because he's sleeping with her. Every time Liza gets a promotion or special attention or perks everyone will assume it's because she's sleeping with the big boss.

I wish the show would have Liza realize that screwing the boss is going to damage her career far more than lying about her age did (since this show is glossing over the whole crime part of it, what with the falsifying documents and all)

Kelsey is stuck as a kind of middle man between her boss and her employee who are sleeping together. If she were smart she'd get the hell out of that company. The way Charles runs it it won't survive much longer anyway.

[bichonblitz]

So what happens with Josh now? The writers are floundering trying to find a place for him. 

[skotnikov]

5 minutes ago, bichonblitz said:

So what happens with Josh now? The writers are floundering trying to find a place for him. 

They could kill him off in the season finale! That will be dramatic!

[politichick]

3 hours ago, Mabinogia said:

As well she should. Every time Charles sides with Liza over her, or suggests she check with Liza about some decision, whether true or not, it is going to appear he did because he's sleeping with her. Every time Liza gets a promotion or special attention or perks everyone will assume it's because she's sleeping with the big boss.

I wish the show would have Liza realize that screwing the boss is going to damage her career far more than lying about her age did (since this show is glossing over the whole crime part of it, what with the falsifying documents and all)

Kelsey is stuck as a kind of middle man between her boss and her employee who are sleeping together. If she were smart she'd get the hell out of that company. The way Charles runs it it won't survive much longer anyway.

Kelsey needs to worry about her own issues. Didn't she lose out on a big book with the first author she was sleeping with? And now sleeping with Zane AND the writer. At the same time?

Lying about her age is grounds for termination but not really a crime, from what I've read.

What are they going to do with Josh? I hope he's done pining over Liza. I do enjoy his friendship with Maggie, though. 

[slowpoked]

17 hours ago, Claudia Kishi said:

How was Pauline so sure there was something going on with Charles and Liza? I mean, he was nasty and pissed at her at the launch party or whatever that was, so it was clear there was something amiss, but at that point C & L were nowhere near being together. I love how Pauline conveniently forgets that the reason Charles/Carl moved on is because she walked out. What an ahole. 

I know! That part of the episode irritated me, mostly because my first thought was that, did I miss an episode?! Nowhere near the previous episodes where Pauline was in did the show ever imply that she had an inkling of C/L. And then the show totally drops her off for 2 or 3 episodes. And then all of a sudden she comes back and drops this bomb on them?! Was there a scene that ended up on the cutting floor in a previous episode where it could have shown Pauline catching C/L, or Pauline hearing some rumor or whatever, but the writers totally forgot that this dinner scene will be on this episode?! Such a damper on an otherwise enjoyable episode.

I'm not a C/L shipper, but they were hot together.

And I hope Charles isn't being dense on Jake already asking him twice to change editors. Jake the snake indeed. 

[jzygayle]

4 hours ago, thesupremediva1 said:

This. I'm not a Charles/Liza shipper by any means, but the "wife" better not be the reason they split up. That marriage was dead long before Charles and Liza ever met, and Pauline is not a compelling character. There are only so many times we can flog this dead horse. I have a million more interesting reasons Charles and Liza don't and won't work - the ex-wife is not one of them. Move along, Pauline. Permanent marriage vacation for you. 

I would, however, love either Maggie or Diana (or ideally, both) to slam Pauline to the ground figuratively, should she attempt to make something of Charles/Liza.  Diana is well aware of when Charles' marriage broke up and it was long before she hired Liza.  And Maggie, just because it's fun when she eviscerates someone verbally.

[HunterHunted]

13 hours ago, Aulty said:

Pauline can just go away. The biggest problem with her and Charles is that they probably never had a conversation about why their marriage fell apart and why he does not want to get back together. I would never think that he didn't play a part in them breaking apart, but Pauline's behavior suggest she does not understand how much she contributed.

Earlier when Liza was editing "Marriage Vacation", Pauline kept pumping Liza for info on all of the women Charles had dated, including Radha. So this sudden turn where she decides that Liza broke up her prospects of marriage getting back on track is hilariously deluded. She knew he was seeing other people; it was in the papers. Their marriage was over. Be it Liza or Radha, Charles was signaling that he was moving on. Please take your insipid sequel to Marriage Vacation--Marriage Dissolution--to Random House.

They either need to come up with a storyline for Josh or write him out. He's like their token straight guy.

Edited August 1, 2018 by HunterHunted
Because my tablet hates Liza's name and turns it into Lisa

[LuvMyShows]

6 hours ago, MostlyC said:

I thought they way they filmed the Charles/Liza scene was definitely hot- and the kiss on the Carousel was tre romantic.  

 

As one who has consistently seen no chemistry btw Charles/Liza while actually kissing/making out, but lots of chemistry at other times, I like the wording of Mostlycx.  I def think it was hot as filmed, and am glad they chose to film it that way so that their big scene didn't have a cold wet blanket thrown on it.  Also I loved the carousel, because it was the first time I think we've ever seen Charles be silly/goofy/carefree.

15 hours ago, retrograde said:

Charles grew that beard in 10 days? 

Aside from whether the character could have grown the beard in 10 days, I looked very closely, and thought that the beard was actually glued on.  It was so awful that I'm surprised the character would have kept it.  This is in contrast to how Peter looked with stubble in the little behind-the-scenes after-feature...niiice.

6 hours ago, skotnikov said:

Gaslighting is quite a strong word for Liza's lies.

6 hours ago, Winston Wolfe said:

On your other observation, two weeks ago, Kelsey herself told Liza "You've been gas-lighting an entire company for years!  Let me have one secret."

 

Regardless of who said it on the show, gaslighting is not what Liza was doing.  The term gaslighting is from the 1944 movie Gaslight, in which a character did things to make another character think she was going crazy.  It's what cheaters often do to deflect the blame from their own cheating, to make the accuser think they are going crazy and imagining things.  The word has somehow gotten bastardized to mean just deceiving/trickery or something...at any rate, there has been zero gaslighting by Liza's character.  

31 minutes ago, slowpoked said:

And I hope Charles isn't being dense on Jake already asking him twice to change editors. Jake the snake indeed. 

I wish Charles had said something about that.  To me, that goes along with his being a not very good businessman.  And I was a little confused by why Jake made his request.  Is it because he was pissed that Kelsey would no longer f*ck him since she's his editor, and he was getting revenge?  Or is it because she would no longer f*ck him since she's his editor, and he hopes that by her not being his editor anymore, she can continue f*ing him, or even have a relationship with him?  If so, it's a d*ck move for her career, even if it was motivated by true feelings on his part.

15 hours ago, Yeah No said:

 Some of the office encounters between him and Liza have been pretty darned risky, so how careful is he really?  Not so much.  I think that's why Liza wanted to talk to him - to tell him he has to dial it back at work big time.  She is clearly uncomfortable with the riskiness as much as she's loving it. 

Yes...the stairs?  That's like the epitome of a bad idea, because there is literally no warning when someone is going to see you.  

[Heathrowe]

Oh my..."You were sitting at your desk, reading Look Homeward, Angel...." and I had to have you! Ummm, that is practically pornographic sweet nothings to a bookish girl. Forget the sexy montage that came next.  No, actually, I gotta rewatch that. OH MY!

[MissLucas]

Something must be wrong with me because I got incredibly bored by all the bubble stuff - and I used to be a Liza/Charles shipper but that was several seasons back. Urgh, about Pauline's return as full on soap opera villain.

17 hours ago, stormborn said:

can Pauline just go away?? I'm so sick of her and her BS. She left Charles and her kids and went on some discount bin Eat, Pray, Love "journey" and now she's found herself she wants an insta-family again. It doesn't work that way. She should be happy she was able to spin that crap into a best-seller and can make money off it. And finally, Liza had nothing to do with her marriage not working. So she needs to look in the mirror and take responsibility and move on.... 

Thank you! That made me laugh out loud.

I actually liked Lauren this episode! And I hope Maggie and Malkie can make things work out. Same goes for Diana and Enzo. Those are the couples I'm more interested in than Charles and Liza. (Or Kelsey and Zane - I suppose Zane refusing to take over snake Jake will sooner or later come up again between these two.)

And finally: How great was Diana looking in that red blazer with the (obviously) ginormous gold-necklace that looked like a double fringe-tiara? There's no way those two things should work together and yet Miram Shor pulled the look off.

Edited August 1, 2018 by MissLucas

[slowpoked]

1 hour ago, LuvMyShows said:

I wish Charles had said something about that.  To me, that goes along with his being a not very good businessman.  And I was a little confused by why Jake made his request.  Is it because he was pissed that Kelsey would no longer f*ck him since she's his editor, and he was getting revenge?  Or is it because she would no longer f*ck him since she's his editor, and he hopes that by her not being his editor anymore, she can continue f*ing him, or even have a relationship with him?  If so, it's a d*ck move for her career, even if it was motivated by true feelings on his part.

I didn't think of it that way. I thought it was revenge. Because he already pulled off the same move earlier with Zane. But yeah, like you said, still a dick move.

Charles never struck me as a good businessman. To me, he's very lucky he has great employees with him - Diana, Kelsey, Liza, etc. - I haven't seen him pull a move (that I remember) that shows he is skillful in what he does.

12 minutes ago, MissLucas said:

17 hours ago, stormborn said:

can Pauline just go away?? I'm so sick of her and her BS. She left Charles and her kids and went on some discount bin Eat, Pray, Love "journey" and now she's found herself she wants an insta-family again. It doesn't work that way. She should be happy she was able to spin that crap into a best-seller and can make money off it. And finally, Liza had nothing to do with her marriage not working. So she needs to look in the mirror and take responsibility and move on.... 

Thank you! That made me laugh out loud.

Indeed! Someone here mentioned Pauline should take a Permanent Marriage Vacation. Posters here are wildly creative!!

Edited August 1, 2018 by slowpoked

[Moxie Cat]

I am looking forward to the scenes when Diana and Lauren find out about Liza. Aren't they the only two regular characters left? Now that Pauline knows and Charles and Liza are dating, it's inevitable. I was thinking during this ep that Diana would be horrified that Charles chose to date her twentysomething assistant, but it would be far more bearable for her if she knew Liza was actually over 40.

Lauren may not find out till the show's finale, which would be entertaining. As a marketing pro, I would guess she may be the most understanding and least hurt when she finds out the truth. I loved the shove she gave Maggie!

[Lsk02]

3 hours ago, slowpoked said:

I know! That part of the episode irritated me, mostly because my first thought was that, did I miss an episode?! Nowhere near the previous episodes where Pauline was in did the show ever imply that she had an inkling of C/L. And then the show totally drops her off for 2 or 3 episodes. And then all of a sudden she comes back and drops this bomb on them?! Was there a scene that ended up on the cutting floor in a previous episode where it could have shown Pauline catching C/L, or Pauline hearing some rumor or whatever, but the writers totally forgot that this dinner scene will be on this episode?! Such a damper on an otherwise enjoyable episode.

Pauline figured it out at the end of “The End of the Tour” episode. Charles came to her book signing and she was finally honest when an audience member asked about their current relationship. After the reading, Pauline was telling off Charles about how he was blind to her needs before she left. Liza was standing right there, and Charles said something like, “yes I know now I have been blind to many things” while staring right at Liza. Pauline gets a look of realization on her face and storms off. So we know she knows, but have no idea exactly what or how much she knows. So assuming Liza had not attempted to explain things to her before the meeting, all the things she said could maybe make sense...in Pauline’e head at least. 

 

So for me it was not a shock that Pauline knew. It was a little odd that it seemed neither Liza or Charles had explained their actual timeline to her, but she is pretty tough to talk to, so maybe they tried. 

Edited August 1, 2018 by Lsk02

[Bort]

1 hour ago, Moxie Cat said:

I am looking forward to the scenes when Diana and Lauren find out about Liza. Aren't they the only two regular characters left? Now that Pauline knows and Charles and Liza are dating, it's inevitable.

Pauline knows about Charles and Liza dating, but she doesn’t know about Liza’s age. 

[itsreal]

20 hours ago, Yeah No said:

OK, I think this was worth the wait as a Charles shipper, and it also helps knowing that the episode was probably supposed to air around the holidays last year, so it wasn't intentional to keep us waiting this long.

Pauline - how predictable that she would come back just to throw a wrench into our sweet little bubble.....Show, come on already, give us a break, we've suffered long enough for this!  How did she know?  I suppose she could have suddenly become observant, but also Charles could have let something slip in her presence as he hasn't been acting very discreet.  Some of the office encounters between him and Liza have been pretty darned risky, so how careful is he really?  Not so much.  I think that's why Liza wanted to talk to him - to tell him he has to dial it back at work big time.  She is clearly uncomfortable with the riskiness as much as she's loving it.  He's acting like a 14 year old, which should be cute and romantic but in this case it just feels immature and unwise.  Not that I mean to burst the bubble, mind you.  I've waited long enough for it, dammit, so I'm willing to forgive that....for now.

I'm wondering how those that thought Charles and Liza had zero chemistry feel now.  Hahaha, I knew they could prove that wrong in one hot episode!  We just had another layer of Charles's onion pulled back for us to contemplate.  Still waters run deep.  I want to dive in.

Yours from the bubble,

Yeah No

I am in love with this episode and I am going to watch it a couple more times :) We all knew Pauline would not just disappear....unfortunately. But seriously just get the F out Pauline!!! I actually kind of like that Charles isn't being very discreet. Maybe he is just so in love that he doesn't care who finds out. And yes, the chemistry was always there.....but tonight it was on fire!!!  And I loved that he shaved!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[itsreal]

Oh and I loved when Charles texted "I miss you already."  SIGH :)

[Yeah No]

I'm wondering just how much trouble Pauline is going to cause for Liza and Charles.  She may continue to blackmail them with crazy demands in exchange for keeping her mouth shut.  I wonder if she won't try digging around to find out more "dirt" she can use against them, and in the process find out Liza's true age.  Charles may counter by doing something drastic like make an "announcement" where he comes clean with the company about his and Liza's relationship.  Although rushing things along with their relationship is not what I'd want to see.  We need more time in the bubble before things get to that point, otherwise the excitement will be over too soon.

[hiccup]

I am definitely team Liza/Charles, but I didn't really think the love scene was hot. It was sweet, but not hot.  The sneaking around part is more hot, because of the danger in being caught. You know, I might have a messed up concept of love and hotness....haha.

I liked Lauren a lot in this episode. In fact, this season she has been a lot less annoying. Last season, I was ready for her to leave, but she can stay if she is going to continue to be this cool.

I saw gaslighting mentioned as a descriptor of what Liza is doing to the company. I don't see it that way. Gaslighting is trying to drive you crazy by making you think you're not really seeing what you're seeing, etc. Liza would be gaslighting if everyone was on to her and she kept denying it and coming up with reasons why everyone else is wrong, etc. I see her actions as more fraudulent, especially with her lying on documents.

I'm glad that Kelsey put the brakes on her relationship with Jake. I know she wants to break the pattern, but I do like her with Zane. He challenges her.

I like Josh a lot and really wish they would do more with his character this season. I think it's time to introduce another love interest for him.

Oh, edited to add that Pauline did have an inkling about Liza and Charles. I forget which episode it was, but all 3 of them were talking and she saw a look between Charles and Liza and it dawned on her. 

Edited August 2, 2018 by hiccup

[ElectricBoogaloo]

Oh, Charles and Liza. If you're going to have a secret interoffice relationship, rule number one is DON'T TALK ABOUT IT WHERE ANYONE COULD OVERHEAR YOU. That means close the office door before you start saying you missed each other and making plans about where you're going to meet each other after work. When Diana walked in, I was like yes, that's exactly why you need to close the damn door! And sheesh, don't touch each other under the table at a work meeting or as you're passing each other in the hallway or MAKE OUT IN THE STAIRWELL AT WORK.

I'm glad that Kelsey finally recognized her pattern and is consciously trying to break it, but she should have realized what Jake was like when he kicked Zane off the book out of jealousy. As soon as she started having that conversation with Jake, I was like Molly girl, you in danger! I was pleasantly surprised that Zane was gracious enough to tell Charles that Kelsey worked really hard editing Jake's book and that she deserved to keep the book at Millennial.

When Malkie said "you have to do the work" in a relationship, I just shook my head. Relationships shouldn't be work, especially at this very early stage. Yes, there may be some compromise required down the line, but if you're already referring to your relationship as work when you're still in the honeymoon phase, maybe this isn't the right person for you. When you find the right person, it isn't work at all. I get what she was saying, which is that Maggie wasn't ready to be serious so she ran away, but it's a pet peeve of mine when people go on and on about how romantic relationships are work.

Pauline can fuck right off. She thinks Liza is the problem? Uh, no. The problem is that she abandoned her husband and children for a year, during which time Charles was definitely dating. She thought that she could just waltz back into town after "finding herself" and just pop right back into her marriage like she'd been at the spa for the weekend instead of gone for an entire year. Liza didn't steal her husband. Pauline left him and expected him to just be waiting for her at home like an eager puppy.

22 hours ago, Winston Wolfe said:

Question to the Board: was Lauren always gay (bi?) or is this a recent development?  Either way, the character has become much more interesting of late.

 

22 hours ago, buffyshrugged said:

Yes, Lauren dated Maggie at one point, and then tried for awhile to date a cute male doctor but found it too vanilla. 

And when Lauren started dating the cute male doctor, she questioned if she was basic! Although she's identified as bi since the beginning of the show, she mostly dated women so I think she knew she was attracted to men but that she tended to be with women.

14 hours ago, LuvMyShows said:

Regardless of who said it on the show, gaslighting is not what Liza was doing.  The term gaslighting is from the 1944 movie Gaslight, in which a character did things to make another character think she was going crazy.  It's what cheaters often do to deflect the blame from their own cheating, to make the accuser think they are going crazy and imagining things.  The word has somehow gotten bastardized to mean just deceiving/trickery or something...at any rate, there has been zero gaslighting by Liza's character.  

I want to like this 100 more times. When I watched last week's episode, I was annoyed that Kelsey referred to what Liza did as gaslighting because that simply isn't true. Yes, Liza lied, but not all lying is gaslighting. What makes gaslighting different from lying is the deliberate intention to make the other person think that they're crazy. Liza's only intention with her lies was getting a job and keeping that job.

[dubbel zout]

4 hours ago, ElectricBoogaloo said:

it's a pet peeve of mine when people go on and on about how romantic relationships are work.

What would you call it? If you're in a relationship, you have to account for the other person in decisions, activities, etc., and that takes an active effort. You can't just assume stuff will happen as if by magic.

Maggie didn't seem that withholding or inactive to me, but we never see the nuts and bolts of her relationships. Way to tell, not show, Show.

[Mabinogia]

6 hours ago, ElectricBoogaloo said:

I was annoyed that Kelsey referred to what Liza did as gaslighting because that simply isn't true.

I'm just unsure if it is ignorance on the part of the writing staff or a deliberate attempt to make Kelsey look pretty stupid. I think it is the former and the writers actually think that's what gaslighting means, but I like to think it's the later because Kelsey has never seemed all that competent to me. She sleeps with pretty much every writer she meets and wafts around in her silly outfits saying lots of "millennial" stuff, but mostly she just seems very lucky to me.

[slowpoked]

2 hours ago, dubbel zout said:

What would you call it? If you're in a relationship, you have to account for the other person in decisions, activities, etc., and that takes an active effort. You can't just assume stuff will happen as if by magic.

I was just going to say. Just because you found the right person doesn't mean everything will fall into place. It's the naivete of romance - you were meant to be with that person, therefore, voila, everything is perfect. I highly disagree. I married the love of my life, and without a doubt, the person meant for me. But we work for our marriage every day.

This reminded me of something a friend told me once - in everything else in your life, when you say work hard, that's a good sign. It's a good trait. You work hard in your career - that's great. You work hard for your health - awesome. But when you say "you work hard in your marriage", it's suddenly a bad thing?! There's trouble in paradise, or marriage is falling apart, etc... Why is working hard an acceptable trait everywhere else but not in relationships?

It's like that famous saying that I hate: "You find a job that you love and you'll never work a day in your life..." Uhhh, no.

I do get that the honeymoon stage is all magic and butterflies. But there's a reason why it's a stage. Everything eventually settles down and you deal with real-life stuff. Work happens, and that's not such a bad thing. People work through issues, and if they don't, they break up and/or divorce.

In the case of Maggie/Malkie, this is technically no longer the honeymoon phase. It's their rebirth. Malkie realized pretty fast that Maggie tend to be lazy in relationships, and that's why it ended. So yes, if Maggie wants to be back in the saddle, she has to prove that she's no longer lazy anymore. 

[MissEwa]

On 01/08/2018 at 3:54 PM, Yeah No said:

I'm wondering how those that thought Charles and Liza had zero chemistry feel now.  Hahaha, I knew they could prove that wrong in one hot episode!

Party of one here but as one of those people I felt bored. It did very little for me. And I think this is why:

23 hours ago, LuvMyShows said:

I def think it was hot as filmed,

(emphasis mine)

It felt... forced. All vingettes and close-ups and out-of-focus shots and swishy camera angles that screamed this is supposed to be sexy and bits of dialogue that didn't really relate to each other. It was as though the writers were like 'here is a montage of sexy times, put in some sexy faces and murmurings and then a close-up of Charles undoing his pants'. The carousel scene was shot the same way - and I get that it's (maybe?) supposed to be the 'bubble' - that dreamline first blush of love etc. etc. - but it just felt gimmicky and like they were covering for the lack of actual chemistry. All the scenes that weren't shot that way were very short and awkward. There was just nothing to them, and Charles' stunted. Line delivery. Makes it feel like he's. Reading. From. Cue cards. 

Contrast to Josh and Liza, who didn't need these tricks. There were plenty of scenes of them just walking and talking, and you could feel the chemistry, or her showing up at his place and then them disappearing into his room, and just him pulling the door shut to finish the scene felt like a moment. It didn't feel scripted, or directed. I feel like we've still never seen Charles and Liza have a fun, intimate date. Or even a conversation. 

Of course, YMMV. I know I'm an outlier on this one. 

Also the beard was HIDEOUS, and it is very rare that I prefer a man without a beard to one with, but that was a hard nope.  

22 hours ago, Moxie Cat said:

I am looking forward to the scenes when Diana and Lauren find out about Liza. Aren't they the only two regular characters left? Now that Pauline knows and Charles and Liza are dating, it's inevitable. I was thinking during this ep that Diana would be horrified that Charles chose to date her twentysomething assistant, but it would be far more bearable for her if she knew Liza was actually over 40.

IMO Diana knows, at least about the relationship. She's not a fool - she knows Marriage Vacation is about Charles. There's no way she watched that exchange between them at the restaurant and didn't right away think 'assistant, who is... OH.' And that last comment about wondering who Charles shaved the beard off for was extremely pointed. I'd guess she also  knows about the age thing too, or at least suspects. 

Maggie and Lauren and Josh saved this episode. 

[Mambo Gladys]

I was very disappointed by the opening scene with Charles and Liza. It all seemed very forced and rushed. I enjoy a good slow burn and their two-word conversation over drinks did not suffice. It either needed to be a tear your clothes off because I’ve been wanting you forever thing or a slow tease that finally comes to fruition and releases this buildup that’s been brewing for a year. In my opinion, it was neither and Charles looks like a bad kisser. I’m pro C&L but Charles needs to step up the sexy. 

[Mabinogia]

52 minutes ago, MissEwa said:

I'd guess she also  knows about the age thing too, or at least suspects. 

I hope Diana knew all along, or at least figured it out pretty early on but didn't say anything because Liza was the best assistant she's had in ages and she didn't want to lose her. 

 

53 minutes ago, MissEwa said:

Maggie and Lauren and Josh saved this episode. 

Maybe they should get a spin off. Three people living in an apartment together...Three's Company 2018 lol 

 

I agree about Liza and Charles' big sex scene. All smoke and mirrors. But kudos to production for using every trick in their book to make them sizzle. I don't really know why, they should ping all my boxes. They are both beautiful to look at. Both strong actors. But their chemistry doesn't come naturally and I can see the effort, which isn't sexy to me at all. I like an easy, natural chemistry. I think they're both capable of chemistry, just not with each other for some reason. But chemistry is very, very subjective so there's that. lol