S02.E10: Merry Ex-Mas

[Blackbird999999lol]

1 hour ago, LalaH said:

I am waiting for a death of a supporting or even main character by the end of this season or mid 3rd season ... It should and probably will happen, seeing as who the showrunners are... Who else would you think it could be, besides Eddie's wife? 

whoever wants to leave the show will most definitely die in a fire or something.

Right now Chimney is in danger of dying but would the writers really sacrifice him for a new character who's hated by a large section of viewers?
Christopher could die, only if the showrunners want to make it known that they're worse than h*tler.
Abby could die. Buck said he's being haunted by her ghost anyway.
maddie could die of course but that wouldn't really affect anyone, most characters never met her or only met her 1 or 2 times. Unfortunately, there's no way the actress would willingly leave the show, though. She hit the jackpot with this job after being jobless for half a decade.

Tbh, it would be a shame if anyone died (other than maddie lmao..). I think many people are watching it because it's a trashy, ridiculous, fun show. A main/supporting character's death would take away the *fun* from the show.

[rove4]

Personally, I don't see this supposed hate for JLH by a large segment of the viewers and I'm all over social media.  No actor is going to please everyone but I've certainly not seen anything out of the ordinary.  But, whatever.

I don't know that this show will kill off a major character - unless the actor wants to leave the show.  This doesn't really seem like that type of show to me but I guess time will tell.

[MoreCoffeePlease]

On ‎11‎/‎26‎/‎2018 at 10:37 PM, mojoween said:

Well slap my ass and call me Harry, I did NOT see that coming.  I thought he was a real Christmas good guy (I mean, last name Bailey) and just happened to show up when Chim needed something.  The fact that he was connected to Maddie never occurred to me.

Me too. I'm very clueless that way, whereas my husband can ALWAYS call this stuff out. He doesn't watch this with me, however.

I loved the proposal, especially "I don't just want to take the next step with you ... I want to take EVERY step with you."   So sweet.

I've enjoyed this show since the very beginning, but this year it has just gotten better and better and is one of my favorites. Definitely going to miss it for 3 months.

Edited November 28, 2018 by MoreCoffeePlease

[LalaH]

7 hours ago, Blackbird999999lol said:

whoever wants to leave the show will most definitely die in a fire or something.

Right now Chimney is in danger of dying but would the writers really sacrifice him for a new character who's hated by a large section of viewers?
Christopher could die, only if the showrunners want to make it known that they're worse than h*tler.
Abby could die. Buck said he's being haunted by her ghost anyway.
maddie could die of course but that wouldn't really affect anyone, most characters never met her or only met her 1 or 2 times. Unfortunately, there's no way the actress would willingly leave the show, though. She hit the jackpot with this job after being jobless for half a decade.

Tbh, it would be a shame if anyone died (other than maddie lmao..). I think many people are watching it because it's a trashy, ridiculous, fun show. A main/supporting character's death would take away the *fun* from the show.

Yeah, now that you mention it, I remember Ryan said he wanted this show to be a kind of escape from the shit show this country (world) has become and give some relief to the audience, so I guess killing off any loved main character would not make sense, unless they have changed their minds OR any of the actors choose to leave (which I don't see happening. It's a great gig for all actors involved and watched WW). I also wouldn't mind them killing JLH but agree, she will NEVER go out willingly.

Since I am one of those who LOVE Abby (her story reminds me of my aunt, who took care of my grandma when she was dying of alzheimer's and lost an amazing relationship with a man she was with for 5 years, not bc he was bad or she was bad, but bc for 3 years her life was consumed by her mother's disease, sadness, guilt ... It was hard to watch, but there was no way she was sending her mom to a home.... I guess that was just so familiar, I recognized Abby) so I for one would love for Connie to come back for a short arc and yes, I also thought they could kill her and have closure to her character ... It'll also bring some drama with it :) 

[Rap541]

25 minutes ago, rove4 said:

Personally, I don't see this supposed hate for JLH by a large segment of the viewers and I'm all over social media.  No actor is going to please everyone but I've certainly not seen anything out of the ordinary.  But, whatever.

You're not crazy. I took a look as well and I couldn't find any broiling controversies. I even went on reddit to look and aside from way too many shots of her cleavage, I didn't find any issues over her being on the show. But then I didn't mind her on Criminal Minds either. She's never going to win an Oscar but honestly I've found her to be fun to watch on this show as the sister of Buck. My only complaint would be this episode and thats more that her freak out over the tree seemed forced and overdone and I will easily allow thats partly the topic and the writing - of course the battered woman has her epiphany to leave as she lies among broken Christmas ornements and her fella is purring how she'll get it right eventually.... We're just missing the obligatory scene where she runs off in the night and cuts her hair in the gas station bathroom to hide. 

[LalaH]

7 minutes ago, Rap541 said:

You're not crazy. I took a look as well and I couldn't find any broiling controversies. I even went on reddit to look and aside from way too many shots of her cleavage, I didn't find any issues over her being on the show. But then I didn't mind her on Criminal Minds either. She's never going to win an Oscar but honestly I've found her to be fun to watch on this show as the sister of Buck. My only complaint would be this episode and thats more that her freak out over the tree seemed forced and overdone and I will easily allow thats partly the topic and the writing - of course the battered woman has her epiphany to leave as she lies among broken Christmas ornements and her fella is purring how she'll get it right eventually.... We're just missing the obligatory scene where she runs off in the night and cuts her hair in the gas station bathroom to hide. 

Those that truly hate JLH have stopped watching the show (they have lost some viewers, as most shows do in its second season, tho rating is really good still) I don't think she has all that many haters, just like she is not overly loved. She is okay on this show, but not a great actress... The 2nd part of this season will give her a lot to play with, so we'll see how she delivers. 

This show really is cheesy and on the nose... but it's fun (tho this season has been much darker and less campier than 1st season)

[Idiotboy]

From the way Fox promo'd the inflatable-Santa gag, I thought that would be the show's big set piece rather than a near-throwaway teaser. (The lengths to which people go to pimp out their houses for Christmas never ceases to amaze me, but perhaps I digress.) Thanks a lot, Fox, for spoiling the Athena/Bobby proposal, too. Even so, this was another case of Ryan Murphy undercutting what should be a catharsis by not foregrounding it. Bobby/Athena makes quantum leaps forward in the space of a few episodes, whereas Abby/Buck was carefully crafted and really earned it, except for the bum's rush Abby got in the S1 finale. TPTB also hand-waved Athena knowing Bobby's Dark Secret, which should have been a major plot point. How did someone as upright as Athena come to terms with her lover's having burned down a building with his family (and many others) inside of it? Tell us, show! 

Except for Christopher (the producers really hit casting pay dirt when the found that kid), Eddie and his ex and Their Issues bore me beyond description. As I've griped before, it's swiping time from other, more interesting characters. I dread the inevitable Eddie-backstory episode. And, on a technical note, on Law & Order they were always locating cell-phone calls by triangulating off of signal towers. What was the reason the 911 dispatchers couldn't do that with Guy In a Box?

[iMonrey]

I simply did not guess that "Mr. Bailey" was Maddie's ex because we've never seen him before. And then I thought it was odd they threw that flashback into the very end of the show - and I still didn't recognize the guy in the flashback. It took a minute for me to put 2 and 2 together. Overall I thought this was a very clunky way to handle it.  

Quote

I am waiting for a death of a supporting or even main character by the end of this season or mid 3rd season ... It should and probably will happen, seeing as who the showrunners are... Who else would you think it could be, besides Eddie's wife? 

I think there's a good chance either Buck or Chim will get killed and it will piss me off if they go that route. You gotta figure from a purely financial standpoint someone has to go to make room for the new guy Eddie (whereas JLH was a wash by replacing Connie Britton), and the show probably doesn't need two "resident hunks" which spells bad news for Buck. 

Quote

It kind of depresses me that I was immediately expecting some kind of gay panic after the elf lady told Buck how adorable the three of them were.

Well he did make a face, but I agree it was a pleasant surprise that he didn't immediately stammer and deny like I expected.

Quote

TPTB also hand-waved Athena knowing Bobby's Dark Secret, which should have been a major plot point. How did someone as upright as Athena come to terms with her lover's having burned down a building with his family (and many others) inside of it?

I wondered that too. That's a rather major plot point to gloss over, especially if they want Bobby and Athena to get married. 

Quote

And did I hear correctly?  They won't be back with new episodes until MARCH????? Fall break is one thing, but maybe this is because the writers are also the writers for American Horror Story and their seasons are that far apart. 

Well last season was only 10 episodes so what are we getting, a third season in the spring or a Season 2B? I'm guessing the latter but will it be another 10 episodes?

[SimoneS]

I don't get all where this expectation that a regular character will die is coming from. Chimney had an iron spike in his head last season and survived. I am pretty sure that he will survive this domestic violence story just fine. 

[PamelaMaeSnap]

On 11/26/2018 at 10:07 PM, SimoneS said:

I have to admit that I teared up with Buck when the Marine was reunited with his daughter and wife.

Oh man, I just sat there weeping over my glass of red wine ... they absolutely killed me with that scene. I cannot hear that song without tearing up but this completely set off the waterworks!

Hope you folks will humor me for a moment ... Back in the paleolithic era, 40 years ago exactly, I had a part-time job while I was at college as a singing waitress at a themed restaurant, The Christmas Inn (slogan: Where It's Christmas Every Day!). So, not surprisingly, we were really booked from about mid-November through Christmas eve and I stayed up at school for both Thanksgiving and Christmas/New Year's to work that year (sophomore year).

We each had a Christmas solo (along with group numbers AND performing the entire scores of "Annie" and "Carousel" and if I never hear "Tomorrow" again it will be too soon). Mine was "I'll Be Home For Christmas" ... at least for the first few weeks.

Most of the nights were booked out with company holiday parties and family dinners and we (six-person cast) split the room to serve drinks and dinner before/while performing. One night I had the absolutely loveliest family, especially the mom/grandma ... When I was singing "I'll Be Home For Christmas," I looked at her and she was just weeping copiously. After the set, I went over to make sure she was all right ... she said "It was absolutely beautiful and means so much because I lost two sons in Vietnam."

I never sang the song again. I couldn't. I shifted over to "Have Yourself A Merry Little Christmas" the next night and always think of her when I hear the song.

Sorry for taking it personal there but this scene just slayed me. I was afraid for about a nanosecond they were killing off the marine and then realized 9-1-1 wouldn't do that to me.

"   ON 11/27/2018 AT 2:11 AM,  ANIMEMANIA SAID: 

If the guy in the cardboard box suffocated, he deserved to, he didn't have a key to poke a few holes in the box or cut through the tape."

Maybe I need to rewatch but I thought when they had a shot of him talking to them on the phone that seemed to be from the POV of inside the box, I saw there was a slit of light where the top of the carton would be and I thought, "Oh, at least he can breathe."

Edited November 29, 2018 by PamelaMaeSnap
Trying poorly to merge

[PamelaMaeSnap]

Never mind

Edited November 29, 2018 by PamelaMaeSnap
Trying even more poorly to delete

[iMonrey]

Quote

I don't get all where this expectation that a regular character will die is coming from. Chimney had an iron spike in his head last season and survived. I am pretty sure that he will survive this domestic violence story just fine. 

I'm just getting a bad feeling that's where this is going. There are two possible outcomes here - Chim saves the day (and Maddie of course) and becomes her hero, thus advancing their relationship status. Or he gets killed trying to protect her and then she's racked with guilt. 

The other possible death would be Buck, from trying to protect her sister, with the same result - Maddie, racked with guilt. 

There's also the fact that the show took on a new regular cast member (Eddy) and typically that means you lose someone in the process. 

I hope I'm wrong, believe me.

Edited November 29, 2018 by iMonrey

[AnimeMania]

19 minutes ago, PamelaMaeSnap said:

Maybe I need to rewatch but I thought when they had a shot of him talking to them on the phone that seemed to be from the POV of inside the box, I saw there was a slit of light where the top of the carton would be and I thought, "Oh, at least he can breathe."

Had some clear tape covering it, a key would have sliced it easily, even a hard punch might have caused the tape is slip creating an opening to breath.

[LalaH]

40 minutes ago, SimoneS said:

I don't get all where this expectation that a regular character will die is coming from. Chimney had an iron spike in his head last season and survived. I am pretty sure that he will survive this domestic violence story just fine. 

For me it's just the nature of these shows... Although I understand this show hasn't shown any indication of actually killing off a main character, if they have a 5 season plot plan (which is what I read) and giving the nature of them having VERY dangerous jobs, it'll be incredibly strange of no one of importance to lose their lives in the 5 seasons, even though it is not a realistic show... also, they will be bringing in new characters each season, so at some point, not everyone can stay. 

I've been thinking that they could kill Abby, which would be a good way to give closure to the character & bring in some drama (but if they were ever to do that, I don't think it'll be till later)

[Blackbird999999lol]

38 minutes ago, LalaH said:

For me it's just the nature of these shows... Although I understand this show hasn't shown any indication of actually killing off a main character, if they have a 5 season plot plan (which is what I read) and giving the nature of them having VERY dangerous jobs, it'll be incredibly strange of no one of importance to lose their lives in the 5 seasons, even though it is not a realistic show... also, they will be bringing in new characters each season, so at some point, not everyone can stay. 

I've been thinking that they could kill Abby, which would be a good way to give closure to the character & bring in some drama (but if they were ever to do that, I don't think it'll be till later)

5 season plot plan?! LOL
i'm sure they've changed their mind about that "5yrs plot plan" since JLH showed up and the show lost about one-third of its viewes.

Edited November 29, 2018 by Blackbird999999lol

[Rap541]

8 hours ago, Idiotboy said:

TPTB also hand-waved Athena knowing Bobby's Dark Secret, which should have been a major plot point. How did someone as upright as Athena come to terms with her lover's having burned down a building with his family (and many others) inside of it? Tell us, show! 

Well, I thought they did when Athena helped Bobby thru his breakdown at the end of the last season, and they went to church and talked about it? I mean, Bobby's story is ridiculously over the top (my nickname for him for the longest time was Captain Manpain) but his Dark Secret is pretty effectively out. Where I question Athena's judgement is inviting him into the house so quickly when she hasn't been single that long and he does have some issues still. 

3 hours ago, iMonrey said:

I'm just getting a bad feeling that's where this is going. There are two possible outcomes here - Chim saves the day (and Maddie of course) and becomes her hero, thus advancing their relationship status. Or he gets killed trying to protect her and then she's racked with guilt. 

The other possible death would be Buck, from trying to protect her sister, with the same result - Maddie, racked with guilt. 

Both valid but I would need to see Buck actually interact with his sister to buy into it at all. Chim and Maddie I buy as lovers. Buck and Maddie seem to *barely know each other's names*.

I'm not seeing a death for Chim or Buck tho. I do see the "saves the day" plot because once you introduce the evil handsome abusive ex, you really need to have him die in a graphic fashion. I actually envision a season ender with everyone involved - Chim gets beaten up by the ex as he kidnaps Maddie, Chim calls the police, Athena calls the gang and there's a DRAMATIC CONFRONTATION after idiot ex crashes the car and the gang is forced to choose between saving him or saving Maddie as ITS DANGEROUS. 

Everyone gets out ok. Athena and Bobby hug and head home....

And ATHENA'S HOUSE IS BURNING BECAUSE THE GAY EX ACCIDENTLY LEFT THE DEEP FRY WOK ON AND BOBBY RUNS INTO THE HOUSE TO SAVE THE KIDS BUT ITS TOO LATE! OH THE HUMANITY!!!!!

Or you know... aliens land or something. 

[Court]

I love this show and I'm really enjoying JLH in this role. I'm with the others, I don't see all this alleged hate for her or the show. It appears the ratings are doing well and don't reflect some percieved massive drop.

Any drop would be related to football, not one actress. I didn't know that was her real life husband but I think he played the abusive husband perfectly. 

[ElTVaddict]

On 11/26/2018 at 9:53 PM, Moose135 said:

 

  I don't think I'm a fan of the Bobby and Athena engagement thing.

 

There is no passion in their relationship. I was hoping with the proposal would elicit some of that off-screen passion we are to believe they have. 

I am glad I'm not the only one seeing this.

[PamelaMaeSnap]

They better not kill off Rockmond Dunbar. I just adore him.

[rove4]

This show just doesn't strike me at all as the type of show that will kill off a member of the main, core cast.  I don't even know if Chicago Fire has killed off one of the main firefighters yet - but I haven't watched since season 3-ish so that may have changed.  Anyway, that show takes itself far more seriously than this one does.  Now if an actor's contract is up and they want to move on to other pastures then I can see the writers deciding to go for it because they're going to lose the actor anyway.

 

21 hours ago, iMonrey said:

I simply did not guess that "Mr. Bailey" was Maddie's ex because we've never seen him before. And then I thought it was odd they threw that flashback into the very end of the show - and I still didn't recognize the guy in the flashback. It took a minute for me to put 2 and 2 together. Overall I thought this was a very clunky way to handle it.  

That last scene where his face was shown came out really dark on my tv so I didn't immediately recognize him as the Bailey dude either.

[Jillybean]

The second I saw JLH's husband in the opening credits, I knew he was going to be the abusive ex we've been waiting for all season. Then the way he was stalking Chimney/Howie around and Chim's missing wallet...yep, it was totally obvious to me. I didn't catch the name "Bailey" and wouldn't have gotten that reference. The flashback of the aftermath of him beating her for not decorating the tree to his liking was chilling. 

I couldn't handwave the guy in the box on the plane being totally fine after a few chest compressions.

It was disappointing that they spoiled Bobby's proposal in the previews from last week, so the whole episode there was no suspense.

But other than that, this was a good episode. 

Edited November 29, 2018 by Jillybean

[BooksRule]

Quote

And I liked the shout out to Die Hard being a Christmas movie. Anyone saying anything else is just wrong.

Like the memes say, 'It's not Christmas until we see Hans Gruber fall off the Nakatomi Plaza.'

For a moment (when I heard that the guy's name was Bailey) I thought he was a good guy, but after a few minutes I figured that he was the evil ex. 

[iMonrey]

Quote

There is no passion in their relationship. I was hoping with the proposal would elicit some of that off-screen passion we are to believe they have. 

I think what we might perceive as "passion" can be very subjective, but Bobby and Athena seem very comfortable with each other and let's face it, they're not spring chickens anymore. Not all relationships have to be about heat. That said, my biggest concern would be that Bobby is something of a rebound for Athena. There might be a dependency issue on both sides that isn't entirely healthy.

I believe I saw Die Hard once, ages ago, when it first came out. On VHS. Does it take place during Christmas?

[Ohwell]

31 minutes ago, iMonrey said:

I think what we might perceive as "passion" can be very subjective, but Bobby and Athena seem very comfortable with each other and let's face it, they're not spring chickens anymore. Not all relationships have to be about heat. That said, my biggest concern would be that Bobby is something of a rebound for Athena. There might be a dependency issue on both sides that isn't entirely healthy.

I believe I saw Die Hard once, ages ago, when it first came out. On VHS. Does it take place during Christmas?

I agree "passion" can be very subjective and I don't want or need to see Bobby and Athena routinely pawing each other.  However, I agree that they might have dependency issues with each other that wouldn't be healthy.  They're comfortable with each other now, like a pair of old shoes.  I'm waiting to see what happens when those shoes start to get really worn.  

[Jillybean]

Having seen Peter Krause in three shows now, it's my opinion that he doesn't have "heat" with anyone.

[Zoe]

On 11/28/2018 at 6:49 PM, AnimeMania said:

Had some clear tape covering it, a key would have sliced it easily, even a hard punch might have caused the tape is slip creating an opening to breath.

Wasn't the box also plastic-wrapped?

[Court]

7 hours ago, Zoe said:

Wasn't the box also plastic-wrapped?

Yes it was shrink wrapped. He said he had tried punching and kicking it.

[AnimeMania]

13 hours ago, Zoe said:

On 11/28/2018 at 7:49 PM, AnimeMania said:

Had some clear tape covering it, a key would have sliced it easily, even a hard punch might have caused the tape is slip creating an opening to breath.

Wasn't the box also plastic-wrapped?

Yes and no, it was shrink wrapped to some other boxes. So boxes were on top, but how much of his box was shrink wrapped is debatable. 

[Rap541]

Honestly, I get that the box storyline was meant humorously but even assuming the guy could be knocked out and then falls into the box... wasn't there a large item that was supposed to go in that box to begin with? How could that go unnoticed?

[dreadfulLeigh]

Despite Buck’s ott horndogedness a la the first season, I am totally on board with his character. He was the MVP of this episode. Just popping up all over the place, being supportive, sweet and crying those sweet tears of joy. 

Re: his reaction to his sister rejecting the tree and Christmas, I see this more as him looking through his childhood lens. I can’t recall how long Maddie was married, but given the age gap between them and how long she’s been away (not to mention the distinct lack of Buck’s awareness of particulars of her marriage and married life) I’d say he was just going off of his memories as a young child/teenager of how much she loved Christmas. And it’s not a lack of sibling familiarity/chemistry but more of a distance, both emotionally and time wise.

[PamelaMaeSnap]

On 11/29/2018 at 4:21 PM, Jillybean said:

Having seen Peter Krause in three shows now, it's my opinion that he doesn't have "heat" with anyone.

Lauren Graham may beg to differ (and if someone else posted this before I read/quoted it, apologies or Gilmore minds think alike!)

[Ohwell]

16 hours ago, PamelaMaeSnap said:

On 11/29/2018 at 4:21 PM, Jillybean said:

Having seen Peter Krause in three shows now, it's my opinion that he doesn't have "heat" with anyone.

Lauren Graham may beg to differ (and if someone else posted this before I read/quoted it, apologies or Gilmore minds think alike!)

Actually that doesn't surprise me because I think they're a good match.  They're both "heatless." ; )

[PamelaMaeSnap]

I don't think I'd watched any of the other shows he'd been in and I remember when I learned they were a couple, I thought he looked ... pleasant enough. I have to say, though, that watching this, I kind of "get it." He's not the hottie, but there's something about him (maybe partly the character) that is just so appealing ... he looks like he'd give great hugs. Sometimes when you're older "warmth" trumps "heat." 

[Ohwell]

He's got nice eyes, I'll give him that.

[yourdreamer]

On 11/29/2018 at 1:16 PM, iMonrey said:

I believe I saw Die Hard once, ages ago, when it first came out. On VHS. Does it take place during Christmas?

Not sure if you were serious or sarcastic, but I will answer - Bruce Willis’s character goes to meet his estranged wife in LA on Christmas, goes to her company's Christmas party, and terrorist shenanigans ensue. Best use of “Christmas in Hollis” in a movie, I think. It’s my favorite Christmas movie. 

[LalaH]

On 12/1/2018 at 2:01 PM, dreadfulLeigh said:

Despite Buck’s ott horndogedness a la the first season, I am totally on board with his character. He was the MVP of this episode. Just popping up all over the place, being supportive, sweet and crying those sweet tears of joy. 

Re: his reaction to his sister rejecting the tree and Christmas, I see this more as him looking through his childhood lens. I can’t recall how long Maddie was married, but given the age gap between them and how long she’s been away (not to mention the distinct lack of Buck’s awareness of particulars of her marriage and married life) I’d say he was just going off of his memories as a young child/teenager of how much she loved Christmas. And it’s not a lack of sibling familiarity/chemistry but more of a distance, both emotionally and time wise.

Imo, so far, Buck's character is the most developed. The show invested a lot in showing us this character growth, so we feel that we now know him so much better, just like he knows himself that much better. That is why it took him as long as it did to let go of Abby.... It was important to show that this change is permanent. I do like him and I am curious to see where they take his character next and how he will react to Maddie's ex and story, when it is fully revealed. 

[TaurusRose]

On 11/27/2018 at 12:41 PM, Blackbird999999lol said:

IMO that little girl has a beautiful voice.

Ariana Grande otoh sounds like a screaming banshee.

JLH is ruining another show with her personal life. Truly shocking. it's not like fans warned the network/showrunners about her months ago. She ruined the entire 10th season of Criminal Minds with her kid. I wonder if she tried to ruin CM too with her "husband" but they told her to go f herself.

She has the nerve to pull this sh!t again. Hundreds of people lost their jobs when that failed lifetime show got cancelled because of her & her husband. She's truly a sociopath with no empathy and no remorse. 

 

Okay.  Huh???? 

[jhlipton]

On 11/26/2018 at 7:07 PM, SimoneS said:

As for Buck, I can't believe that I used to have no use for him. Now I think that he is such a nice guy and good friend. 

As @LalaH said, they spent time in building his character up from "Horndog #1".  "Buck 2.0" was the episode wheren he realized he didn't want to be That Guy any more.

On 11/28/2018 at 7:40 AM, rove4 said:

Personally, I don't see this supposed hate for JLH by a large segment of the viewers and I'm all over social media.  No actor is going to please everyone but I've certainly not seen anything out of the ordinary.  But, whatever.

Any time an actor or actress (especially actress) leaves a show, there are always rumors the she was "difficult to work with" or "such a diva".  Some people love to spread such rumors  on social media.  I've learned not pay them any mind.

23 hours ago, yourdreamer said:

Not sure if you were serious or sarcastic, but I will answer - Bruce Willis’s character goes to meet his estranged wife in LA on Christmas, goes to her company's Christmas party, and terrorist shenanigans ensue. Best use of “Christmas in Hollis” in a movie, I think. It’s my favorite Christmas movie. 

The first 3 Die Hard movies are all "Christmas movies" -- they're all set at Christmas.  I don't know about later ones.

[yourdreamer]

23 hours ago, jhlipton said:

The first 3 Die Hard movies are all "Christmas movies" -- they're all set at Christmas.  I don't know about later ones.

Not to go too far off topic, but the first 2 were the only ones at Christmas. Die Hard w a Vengeance was near summertime, as evidenced by Samuel L Jackson’s consistently sweaty appearance. None of the rest were either.

As soon as “Bailey” came on screen, I told hubby that he was the ex. We have been watching a lot of true crime shows, so I default to everybody being bad in any show now. 

[Empress1]

On 12/2/2018 at 12:04 PM, PamelaMaeSnap said:

I don't think I'd watched any of the other shows he'd been in and I remember when I learned they were a couple, I thought he looked ... pleasant enough. I have to say, though, that watching this, I kind of "get it." He's not the hottie, but there's something about him (maybe partly the character) that is just so appealing ... he looks like he'd give great hugs. Sometimes when you're older "warmth" trumps "heat." 

I've seen Peter Krause in four shows: Six Feet Under, Dirty Sexy Money, Parenthood, and this one. His character had a lot of sex in Six Feet Under but most of it was ... troubled, as was the character. I've never found him attractive except when Bobby Nash is striding bravely into a situation and taking care of business. I tend to be attracted to tall (I'm tall myself) smart men who are notably good at stuff, so I think that's it (his other characters didn't have that kind of gravitas).

On 12/3/2018 at 11:07 AM, LalaH said:

Imo, so far, Buck's character is the most developed. The show invested a lot in showing us this character growth, so we feel that we now know him so much better, just like he knows himself that much better. That is why it took him as long as it did to let go of Abby.... It was important to show that this change is permanent. I do like him and I am curious to see where they take his character next and how he will react to Maddie's ex and story, when it is fully revealed. 

I totally agree. Buck has grown and the show has showed it, not just told us he has. They've really showed him mature over these two seasons - first in his relationship with Abby, and then afterward, looking for something more substantive and real. He's also taking the job seriously in a way he wasn't before. He's young but he's not nearly as immature as he was before and I am here for it.

[torqy]

Re: Athena's neat house, it was mentioned somewhere along the way that Rockmond Dunbar's character was an architect. 

[jhlipton]

On 12/4/2018 at 5:16 PM, yourdreamer said:

Not to go too far off topic, but the first 2 were the only ones at Christmas. Die Hard w a Vengeance was near summertime, as evidenced by Samuel L Jackson’s consistently sweaty appearance. None of the rest were either.

Thanks for the update.  Jake Perletta, I'm not!

[methodwriter85]

On 11/27/2018 at 4:32 PM, starri said:

It kind of depresses me that I was immediately expecting some kind of gay panic after the elf lady told Buck how adorable the three of them were.

I liked that. Buck was pretty into the love story of the two old guys who died the same day and it was nice that he didn't resolve into a gay panic.

I'm really bored with Eddie's wife.

I knew it was JLove's husband so I figured it had to be the ex. I was hoping for Bryce Johnson but whatever. I love that she's essentially living out the plot of Sleeping with the Enemy. I loved that movie so I'm into this. LOL.

[Diana Berry]

Catching up on this season.  I was fooled didn't know the Christmas guy was going to be the ex.

 

Side note-JLH's hubby is very nice looking .

[methodwriter85]

13 hours ago, Diana Berry said:

Side note-JLH's hubby is very nice looking .

Yeah, I know Brian Hallisay from an 2006 episode of Cold Case where he played a secretly gay cop that falls for another cop. I thought he was drop-dead gorgeous in that episode. He's kind of been a "Hey, it's that guy" since. They met on JLove's show The Client List.

I did really like how he played the character. I can buy that he's the type of guy that everybody thinks is a great guy, until his creepy abuser side comes out.

Edited January 2, 2019 by methodwriter85