Riverdale - Tangerine

Discussing Ep.

- That's right, Jug. Play by the rules. Of course, you know he won't.

- AHA HA HA HA HA HA.....Ronnie didn't get into Dartmouth. Maybe she's not the genius she thought she was.

- Wow. Way to slag community colleges. Sure, they aren't the expensive educational monoliths that universities are, but they have their benefits too!

- Do they not even have colour photo technology in Riverdale either?

- "People die changing tires on the side of the road, Mr. Jones. At least I'd die with a shred of honour." What a stupid thing to say. Did they not paint Fred Andrews as a hero for sacrificing his life for Shannon Doherty by pushing her out of the way from an oncoming car while changing said tire? And now Archie completely negates that sacrifice with that one line. Well done, you fucking hack!

- Ya know, I'm thinking from earlier before.....didn't FP designate a bunch of Serpents as deputies? Why aren't they going around doing all the dirty work instead of Archie?

- What the fuck?

Is this Jug AND Charles talking to each other? Brother to brother? No set up? No big meeting between these two? Just Jug asking Charles for the FBI's help? It figures!

- That sucks! I wanted to see the footage of Polly freaking out!

- I hope Polly's possessed. THAT at least would be interesting.

- Sigh!

Ronnie addresses her as "abuelita," which means "grandmother." But in the next line, she calls her "Godmother." Godmother in Spanish is "madrina." Can they not even get this right?

- I love how they just came up with this Lodge family recipe for rum out of nowhere. Nowhere in the previous 3 seasons did they even HINT at the idea that the Lodge's became famous for rum production. And if they did, it wasn't noteworthy.

- So I'm guessing someone is calling Cooper women, saying some line that activates the serial killer gene and that's how they're turning into these killing machines all of a sudden. I mean....why the fuck not?

- I've got to admit, Alice looks both sexy and scary at the same time!

- That is such bullshit! Of course, Betty...the genius that she is and the luckiest person in the world....knows how to break Alice's hypnotic state with a mere snap of her fingers! Fuck this show!

- Well, that's one way to get to Hiram....through mom!

- Oh, fuck you, Archie! So, is he now in charge of his dad's construction company too? He's going to fire the foreman JUST BECAUSE he was interested in buying the company? A company that Archie is not even overseeing? Archie shouldn't be in charge of anything....he's too much driven by anger to be competent at anything!

- Yes! Tell me that Evelyn makes an appearance!

- What the fuck is this?

Man, I've never wanted one of Cheryl's stupid schemes to work more than this scheme of poisoning herself to death. All the best, Cheryl!

- Damn it! It was a ruse!

- I fail to see how Archie honours his father's memory in any way by always resorting to violence to get things done. It's like it's the only thing he knows how to do. I'll give massive credit to this show if by the end of it all, Archie turns into a pacifist and learns to handle problems through peace!

- I will say, it's a nice touch of attention to detail to have Cheryl with a spider broach and Penelope with a scorpion broach....both members of the arachnid family!

- "Lunatic child!" I miss Penelope!

- Oh, that's rich, Cheryl! Charging your mother with "gaslighting" when you did the same to Toni! And charging her with murder? Did you and Toni not just kill your uncle recently?

- Fuck! At least FP acknowledges that Fred would not approve one bit of FP and Archie going around and getting into brawls!

- So Dupont did it all legally. He bought the rights to the Baxter Bros. story from Forsythe for $5,000 (which must NOT have been cheap back then) and turned it into a fortune. Seems fair to me!

I'm actually kind of impressed that they deflated this puffed-up heroic journey that Jug went on. I'm happy to see that he turned out be wrong!

- Yes! I missed Evelyn!

- What? So once they're "triggered," they try to kill Dark Betty or anyone named Betty? Don't do it in front of Betty White then! This is up there with contrived plots, I'll give them that! I mean, if this was Edgar's idea, why didn't they employ it before he went into Evel Knievel mode?

- Damn, she looked sexy talking into the phone like that!

- So, saying the word "tangerine" three times will trigger the victims? I've heard saying "Bloody Mary" in the mirror three times in the dark yields unfortunate results too!

- Did Archie just get FP killed? Way to go, Arch! Hope you're happy.

- Shit, it's true! Darla is supposed to be Dodger's mom! THE ACTORS ARE BOTH THE SAME FUCKING AGE!!!!

- Yeah, what a surprise that Archie has no honour by keeping his word and decides to try and end another problem with violence!

- "It wasn't your happiness with the she-goblin that I wanted to destroy." AHA HA HA HA HA HA!!! Penelope always has the best insults.

- What....who is this guy? Is he a part of the cast? He looks familiar.

- LOL! Well done, Hiram! I like how plays. Sending the Columbia rep to Ronnie's bar to see how she operates.

- That is so fucking insulting. Having this guy pretend to be this woman's son. They are both the same age!

I guess it speaks more to her aged appearance and to his youthful looks than anything else!

- Well, you just stepped into it, didn't you Dodger? Because you're dealing with no ordinary teenager. You're dealing with....

- See what I mean? Dodger hit Archie full on with a metal plate and Archie just shrugged it off!

- I really hope Ronnie's song and dance left a sour taste in the Columbia's rep's mouth because she's just a stripper pole away from being an exotic dancer!

- Okay, first of all, does Ronnie not need some kind of license to make rum in the first place? I'm sure Hiram would have stopped that. Second, I applaud Hiram for getting a patent...but threatening to sue Ronnie for all that she has? She has NOTHING! It's pretty much all his anyway.

- "Underage party girl, Veronica Luna." My sentiments exactly!

- Ya know, if I were Jug, I'd be pissed at Archie for nearly getting my dad killed!

- Sigh!

Ya know, I feel bad for Dilton. He built that bunker. He made it. And now that he's gone, everyone and their mother is using it. The least they could do is call it Dilton's Bunker!

- Oh, for fuck's sakes. Going back and stopping the birth of Dark Betty? Doesn't she have a serial killer gene? Isn't Dark Betty a part of her genetics? It's not psychological, it's genetic! You can't kill it if it's genetic! These people can't even keep their canon straight!

- "Go and play."

First of all, the cat looks already dead. Secondly, telling young Betty to just go and play and essentially leave your dying cat to lay there and die a slow and painful death rather than take it to a fucking veterinarian is worse than killing it with a rock! At least killing it was a mercy killing.

- Oh, of course. Columbia likes people with good stories and Ronnie obviously has a good story. Bullshit! She has money and you just want her money, so just leave it at that!

- Ya know what...

Cheryl looks so much better without all the clown makeup. She looks far, far more sympathetic too.

- Damn! I'll give them credit for acknowledging that Archie is so far off the mark from what Fred would want him to be. There may be hope yet.

- LOL! Why do they look like they're from Hogwarts?

- I'm curious to know why Cheryl didn't do Jason's funeral...viking-style. Push him off into the river and then fire a flaming arrow at his casket. THAT would have been infinitely cooler!

- Wow, what a close family the Andrews clan is! Fred had a brother he never bothered to tell Archie about!

- So....Betty activated Dark Betty? Are we going to get the return of the black wig and dominatrix outfit too?

This was typical Riverdale....lots of contrived plots and stuff that made no sense. Why did they decide now to cleanse Cheryl of her obsession with Jason? Seemed kind of arbitrary that they did that. They seemingly ended the Baxter Bros. mystery for Jug, and the Dodger storyline came to an end rather abruptly too. So I'm assuming, come the new year, we'll get a whole new set of storylines that have little or nothing to do with these storylines and there will be no coherency whatsoever.

I will just sit here and enjoy one last time watching Evelyn speaking all sexy-like into the phone!

Evil - 7 Swans a Singin'

Discussing Ep. 1.10

This was a rather haunting yet beautiful episode just for the singing alone. Having the girls sing that tune, especially in the private school where the sound echoed throughout....it was eerie but nice. I'm legitimately surprised that I didn't get the tune stuck in my head.

I kind of figured that the reason why the girls were singing this tune wasn't related to any supernatural occurrence, but I liked how they kept the real answer vague throughout the episode. I also liked how Kristen brought up various incidences throughout history where similar occurrences of mass unexplained behaviours and epidemics occurred, like the Tanganyika laughter epidemic or the dancing plague of 1518.  Kristen tried her best to diagnose the situation, figuring it was Stuck Song Syndrome. When her tactics to change the tune in the girl's heads didn't work, they tried to chalk it up to the food or to some kind of asbestos. Neither of those seemed to be the answer. It was here that having a teenage daughter came in handy because it was Lynn who turned them onto the Puddy's Christmas video.

This thing was fucking creepy.....like Santa Claus somehow hooked up with Ren & Stimpy and they did too much weed together and decided to make a music video! I assumed that perhaps there was some kind of low frequency audio that was influencing the kids, although I wasn't sure. I certainly wasn't expecting it to be a frequency that could affect only teenagers! And I certainly wasn't expecting this.

This just made me cringe! Shoving a pencil or scissor in your ear? Damn! What I was expecting was Ben to solve this since this was out of the realm of expertise for both Kristen and David. Sure enough, there was a low frequency message, but it wasn't coming from this video but rather from this Youtube influencer.

This was rather funny because she was very much like some Youtube influencers.....just this kind of ditzy individual who posts really superficial videos to get likes and subscribers. It was a subtle comment on the landscape of Youtubers and how far and obsessed some people will go to get subscribers and views. Although it was revealed that Townsend was the one behind putting the frequency in her video that would cause teenagers to commit suicide, there was something rather weird. When Kristen was watching the end of the video, and Malinda tells the viewers "you have been warned," there was another voice (a deeper voice) that said that line along with Malinda. When David saw the video, that other voice wasn't there. And considering that Kristen's daughters all heard that voice, and Lyla stabbed herself in her ear, it seemed that perhaps The Sixty were targeting Kristen in particular. Hell, she's being targeted heavily and her stupid mother isn't helping!

Sheryl really pissed me off in this episode. When she was talking with Lexi, giving her advice on how to handle the school bully, I couldn't help but notice that she talked EXACTLY like Townsend! Her logic was sound but her morality was not. But that's how evil sometimes operates. I could agree with her advice in that Lexi had to stand up to her bully, but not by bashing her head in with a rock! Telling her that "you make them your bitch or they make you theirs" was a line that perhaps works in the adult world, but not in a kids world. Mind you, the fact that it worked didn't help matters. But what really pissed me off was how Sheryl denied the whole incident and essentially gaslit her own granddaughter! When we find out that Townsend advised her on the whole thing, it made sense. I have a feeling that Sheryl is going to become a casualty of this war since she's obviously not able to resist Townsend and see him for what he is. I could see Townsend disposing of her when she's outlived her usefulness.

While it seemed David was being targeted in a different way. First off, I couldn't blame David for 'slipping,' as it were, by sleeping with Reneé. I mean....c'mon! That woman is gorgeous and he wasn't really left in a position to exercise self control. But what I was really happy about was that they didn't abandon the relationship outright. I was worried because when he was in confessional, he said that he and Reneé decided to go their separate ways because they knew it wouldn't work. I couldn't buy that since Reneé had been so into him for so long that I couldn't see her just giving up. Maybe the sex was bad that she had no problem walking away? Either way, their relationship continued not because of David or Reneé but rather because of some mystery person who could write in Julia's handwriting and take photos of David and Reneé in David's room! I'm really curious to see how they explain this or explain this:

I was happy to see that they didn't abandon David's vision just yet, revealing the 3 stars that David had seen before. We had seen these 3 stars over David before too, but now David is looking up at them as he bleeds out. I'm willing to bet the attacker was sent by Townsend or The Sixty because they see him as a serious threat. After all, Townsend wanted to send an incel to shoot up David's prayer meeting! But what does that have to do with the love note in Julia's handwriting? And why is Reneé getting those Wi-Pokes with the pictures of the two of them? I don't necessarily blame David for not going to Ben with this problem as he doesn't want to reveal everything that is going on with his life but I figured Ben could have probably figured out where the pokes were coming from.

I'm assuming David survives this and it's going to be a big mystery as to who that guy was and how he targeted David. And kudos to David for fighting him off because that guy was carrying a HUGE knife! I'm talking a Crocodile Dundee kind of knife!

There were no puzzle pieces this episode, at least not any that I could see. Maybe one flashed on the screen and I didn't see it. But beyond that, they keep adding more pieces to the overall puzzle. Who or what is contacting David? What will happen with Sheryl and how will she assist in Townsend destroying Kristen's family? And who the hell does Townsend have in this bag?

Is that an incel that he targeted from the last episode? Is he going to torture this person to do what he wants? And whatever happened to that prayer meeting that he was going to send Sebastian to go and shoot up? They made it seem like that was going to happen relatively soon. Considering David's state of doubt in regards to his faith and his relationship with Reneé, I couldn't see him leading a prayer meeting anytime soon. And now that he's sort of out of commission, I don't see what point there is for Townsend to recruit anybody to shoot up a prayer meeting that isn't going to happen. I'm curious to know who this person is that Townsend has in that bag and how his attack will continue with Kristen and David. And will he shift his sights to Ben at all? Ben has been left alone for the most part but I'm wondering if that will change because the trio are stronger being together.

The trio.....I wonder if perhaps the 3 stars are also in reference to the three of them.

And I will say this about the trio, I'm loving their relationship with each other. Especially Kristen and Ben. It made me laugh when Kristen is coming up with diagnoses for the singing girls in front of  the new monsignor, and he praises her for her work and her contribution. The look on Ben's face after that compliment and when he afterwards calls her a "teacher's pet" was just so precious.

And also when David and Ben get together to buy a gift for Kristen, how they both are sort of arguing that they should have gotten Kristen something after she got them something and then both chip in to get her those earrings. In some ways, I hope that Kristen and David don't end up together because I feel like it would ruin the dynamic of this trio. Ben and Kristen are like brother and sister, with Ben already establishing himself like the fun uncle to Kristen's daughters, him being Ben The Magnificent and all of that. David is the clear leader of the group but he's incredibly flawed and riddled with both personal and real demons which betrays the cool and strong exterior that he presents to the other two. Kristen has her own issues but I feel like she's a nice balance between the two and brings that touch of femininity that is clearly needed. The three of them work really well together even with their opposing views and it's because of that that I could see Townsend and The Sixty wanting to break them up.

I'm curious to see what strategy Townsend and The Sixty will employ to do just that. 

Legacies - This Christmas Was Surprisingly Violent

Discussing Ep. 2.8

I have to say, this episode felt like the writing and production staff was just mildly keeping busy before Christmas break and they decided to just throw something together because they were eager to go on holiday.

Regardless, I took it merely as a fun episode and other than the stuff with Raf, it was really more relaxed than previous episodes. I mean, you can't more ridiculous than a WWE-style throwdown between Krampus and Santa Claus!

I can't say much about this storyline. Truth be told, I was fully expecting Santa Claus to be the bad guy because they tend to throw little twists like that, that perhaps Santa was another victim of Malivore and to stop from going back he had to do something dastardly and find Landon or something. But nope, they didn't go that route. Actually, what I was impressed by was the fact that they were sort of keeping time, as it were. At various points, they specifically said that it was still October in their world, it was still autumn. So they still had Halloween to go through. I would be really interested to see how a school of werewolves, vampires and witches celebrate Halloween! But we didn't get that this year. It'd be interesting considering all the monsters that are showing up now that you could totally have famous monsters like Dracula or Frankenstein or the Wolfman show up. Maybe there are licensing issues with those but it would be cool.

Hope was very much my kindred spirit in this episode. I'm not really one for Christmas either, for various reasons. So I could totally empathize with her attitude and being all miserable and what not. I was seriously upset this past November when it started to snow during MY season, MY autumn.....the best seasons of them all (with spring coming in a close second). So yeah....I was totally on Team Hope in this episode. Though I couldn't understand Hope's reasoning, per se. She doesn't like Christmas because essentially she doesn't have her father and mother around. Fair enough. But she does have family....two aunts (Freya & Bex), an uncle (Kol), a baby cousin (Nik) and an older (adopted) brother (Marcel) in NOLA. So, cry me a river about not having family to spend Christmas with! Considering this wasn't exactly Christmas, I'm going to assume when the real Christmas falls upon the Legacies world, that she WILL go to NOLA to spend it with her family and stop bitching about not having a family to spend Christmas with!

For a guy who has no powers of immortality, he sure is hard to kill! He's died like....what....three times already? First was at the end of last season, then when his original body was killed after he transferred over to SimuLandon, and then again at the end of the episode. I'm not sure how I feel about his story arc here. I get that he was trying to get revenge on his father, Mudman Sr. (aka Malivore), and was essentially willing to sacrifice anyone to do it. But last episode, he was willing to kill his brother and Hope to do it. This episode, he's willing to work with Hope and sacrifice himself? I don't know....the turnaround felt a bit too quick for me. Though I will say that it was kind of nice how he was sort of able to make peace with Hope. Hell, I might have shipped them if he didn't get killed. I'm assuming he's dead at this point and if he isn't, then I don't see how you kill him.

And it seems we get a returning character from S1:

 
I'm kind of happy to see the Necromancer again. He had personality and style and even had a bit of a history with Klaus, even though Klaus didn't remember him. So at least there's some connection there with Hope. I'm curious to see where this goes and if he's at all connected to the prophecy. He was, after all, ditched in Malivore so did Mudman Sr. release him? And if so, who is the other druid since there were two of them?

I suppose I better talk about this particular scene where once again, a TVD alum was referenced in a bit of a ridiculous way. So they're telling us that Damon gave his prized 1969 Chevy Camaro convertible to the Saltzman twins as a Sweet Sixteen gift? Bullshit! I don't care how good a friend Damon is with Alaric, there is no way he'd give that car up, especially in the condition it was in. I had to refresh my memory because I was sure it got wrecked when he and Elena drove it into the Grill in order to stop the Travellers in S5. Then I read that Stefan had it rebuilt and gave it back to Damon. So no....there is no reason and no way that he'd just give it up to Alaric and his daughters out of the kindness of his heart. To me, I'm willing to bet Elena TOLD him to give it away (being the bossy woman that she is) because what use does a middle aged father have for such a car? And why wouldn't he keep it for Stefanie Salvatore? A classic car like that?

And with the way Lizzie talked about it disparagingly, even going so far as to have sex with Drowned Pirate on it (while a dead Landon was in the trunk) just goes to show that if Damon did indeed gift that car, it was in vain because it's clear no one has any appreciation for it!

Speaking of Lizzie and Drowned Pirate, I almost lost my shit when Sebastian referred to Lizzie as a drunken pirate in reference to her driving. If she had responded with a "well, you look like a drowned pirate!" line, I would have freaked the fuck out (incidentally....such a thing has happened on Riverdale....I made a blurb about something COMPLETELY ridiculous and lo and behold....it actually manifested on the show! So, you never know.)! They went traditional CW here, with Sebastian showing off his abs and Lizzie just melting into a puddle of drooling fangirl and decided to get it on right then and there. So, it was a bit of a step back but I'm not too upset about it since Lizzie has shown growth especially when it comes to Landon. I liked how she was willing to seek Landon out and not only bring him back to Salvatore School but to Hope, not Josie. And she expressed how she too was willing to help Landon in whatever challenge that Malivore throws at them. So, there was some real growth there. I'm also sceptical about Lizzie's inner geekiness.....she seems to know a lot about Lord of the Rings, talking about hobbits and Mount Doom and what not. For a girl who bashes Landon for such things, she seems to know a lot about it!

The Rafael storyline felt a bit tacked on but I was happy nonetheless that Raf got some shine in this episode. There isn't much to say about it though considering we find out that his mom is either dead or is somewhere out in the world. My guess is, we will see her because if she's not dead, then there's a real chance she will show up. I was happy that Raf got to meet his father and connect with him. It was a nice contrast as opposed to what happened with MG and his father. I wonder if this means that Raf will take a hiatus from the show because like I said before, he doesn't serve much of a purpose. Even he himself admitted that while he felt welcomed at the Salvatore School, he was nevertheless an outsider. I don't necessarily get why Raf is having those anger issues and how he can change his eyes. I can't remember werewolf mythology because they've messed with it so much but I recall that werewolves become stronger or more in touch with their wolf side closer to the full moon, but otherwise cannot access that side at will. Anyway, it's a minor point.

Fuck, I felt bad for Josie. Not that I necessarily blame Landon for hurting her, he wasn't in an enviable position either. Having to break her heart like that could not have been easy and while I applaud him for trying his best to build up her self esteem and soften the blow, there's very little anyone can do to stop the pain. It hurts like a motherfucker and I'm curious to know what this will mean for Josie because now, she's essentially got nothing. Lizzie has Sebastian. Hope now has Landon. Who does Josie have? Her girlfriend, Penelope, is gone from last season. Even Vardemus is gone, so there isn't anyone there to comfort her. Even her dad may not be there if he's re-assuming the Headmaster role (which, by the way, sucks for Mystic Falls High, for the principal to just up and leave at the beginning of the school year....it's October....to go back to his old job. Maybe they'll get Jeremy to fill in as principal even though he has no prior qualifications). I'm hoping this will mean some kind of descent into darkness for Josie because they keep flip flopping with it. Not that I necessarily mind the inner conflict.....she needs that....but they need to pull the trigger on this one way or the other.

Overall, it was a fun and funny episode. So we'll have to wait until 2020 to see what happens.

2020.....where did all the time go?   

Evil - Exorcism Part 2

Discussing Ep. 1.9

Another jaw dropping episode that left me speechless, yet laughing, at the end.

I thought this was a really good episode for Kristen. She came off as intelligent, funny and resourceful in this episode. Right off the bat, I liked how she divulged to David how her husband had returned and sort of set the boundaries in her and David's relationship without really saying anything. Then, when he wanted to "get their stories straight" in regard to the exorcism they performed, she cut him off and laid down the law. At first, I thought she was doing that just to reinforce said boundaries, but then Reneé confirmed that Kristen knew what she was doing and ended up helping David and their case in the end.

I laughed when she was being questioned by Ms. Lemonhead. First, she followed what Reneé told her about keeping her answers short and concise, but it was funny when Lemonhead asked her why she was doing that and she, very frankly, explained how Reneé instructed her to do so. And when Lemonhead asked what else Reneé told her, she replied that Reneé recounted how Lemonhead herself was bitter because of her last name. Kristen was just so deadpan about it that it really came off as funny. Her shining moment came at the end of the episode when she suggested to Reneé that they question the psychiatric assessment, putting doubt on whether it was anymore valid than the spiritual assessment offered by the Church. They sort of did the reverse of what they usually do. Usually, they take a supposed supernatural occurrence and debunk it. Here, they took what seemed a non-supernatural occurrence and proved it to be supernatural. Also, what Kristen did by putting doubt on the science of psychiatry was similar to what Vanessa did with Ben, putting doubt on the validity of quantum physics because the so-called "answers" were always evolving and changing. I thought it was very clever how Kristen did that and ended up saving the Church millions of dollars by the end of it.

Of course, it couldn't all be rainbows and lollipops for Kristen. Her and Andy were suddenly visited...intruded upon....by this rather strange and angry cat! I honestly don't know what to make of this. He seemed to have a serious dislike of Kristen in particular and seemed to be quite attached to the sweater that David gave her. Also, I noticed something strange. When all the sisters came down to see what was going on along with Andy and Kristen, only Lauren (the youngest one with the heart valve problem) was not to be seen at all. Maybe the actress wasn't available but I thought that was weird that she wasn't there. I'm probably looking too much into it but still, I thought it was weird. It's going to be interesting what happens with this cat. Could it be a familiar....a demon masquerading in the form of a cat? Reneé certainly thought it sounded like a demon, if only in jest!

Speaking of Reneé, we got more insight into the backstory of David and it was both light and dark. Seemed like David had quite the sordid past, having been a drug user (cocaine) and having a sex addiction! He found God, did rehab and joined a sex addiction support group, but it seems there are A LOT of windows into which temptation can wander into David's life. And Reneé was certainly no help! First, she admits that she has had a crush on David for the longest time, even during his relationship with her sister, Julia. Then, she hints that she still has one. And given the fact that Kristen is basically out of the picture for David, and how Reneé is pretty damn fine(!), I could not see how this man could resist such a temptation as her.

Which is what made the ending of this particular storyline so bizarre. Was it real? For Reneé to flat out tempt David like that, to refuse to leave his quarters until he touched her....it seemed very, very forward of her. Look, she's very attractive! I can't believe that she held out for David all this time after Julia's death and didn't get into a relationship with another man. She recognized that it was never her sister that was in the way of her getting David....it was God! That right there kind of threw me for a loop, that she would be so defiant of David's ambition to become a priest and flat out tempt him to abandon his beliefs seemed very disrespectful. Much like it was with Ben and Vanessa (which we never found out if they slept together or not), we're left to see if David's resolve withstood this test. I wouldn't be surprised if it didn't.

Then we get to the one guy who had no resolve whatsoever! This storyline surprised the fuck out of me. First off, I have to give some credit where it's due. When he went to that women's-only gym and complained that it was sexist that only women were allowed in the gym....I kind of had to agree with him. Though I get the rationale for it, that having men and women workout together can lead to some unwanted sexual advances from the guys in particular, you have to wonder what kind of uproar there would be if there was a "men's only" gym! Bit of a double standard if you ask me.

Anyway, while Townsend was bent on playing Emperor Palpatine, shaping and moulding his new apprentice into a weapon of destruction, it seemed like Sebastian was no Darth Vader. He was far fucking from it in terms of skill and ability! Though he had the will, he didn't have the tools or the know-how. That's when Townsend brought in a friend, Adam, to train Sebastian in the use of firearms. I thought it was clever how they had Townsend insert the line that Adam was "one of the 59 people I trust in the world." Very clever indeed!

In a lot of ways, I kind of felt like this episode was a public service announcement for improving gun control laws. The fact that Sebastian was so easily able to get such a cache of weapons was disturbing. Add to this the joy he seemed to get from the training and the empowerment he felt, along with Adam's instruction that you get good at killing people by killing people, I could see how and why the gun culture in the US is such a problem. Then again, when you have incompetent people like Sebastian, it makes it all the more disconcerting.

But it seems like all that training was for nothing! I fucking laughed out loud when Sebastian accidentally shot and killed himself! I mean, the way they were building it all up by having Townsend moulding Sebastian to be his hitman....to be his fall-guy, was really getting me nervous. Townsend switched the target from that women's-only gym to a prayer group meeting that David was hosting. Sebastian seemed hesitant to attack the prayer group because they had nothing to do with his new-found incel hatred of women. I found it a bit contrived that Townsend was able to explain away the change in target by saying that the prayer group was going to be made up of mostly women, but it seemed good enough for Sebastian. And so everything was set for yet another mass shooting in the US! But then the glorious buffoon ruins it all by showing off in his apartment, getting himself pumped up for the mission, only to off himself in the end by putting a bullet through his head! It's so hard to find good help these days.

What I don't understand is Townsend's insistence on getting an incel to do this hit job. After realizing that Sebastian wasn't going to work out, he sought out other incels. I didn't get this. First, why didn't he try and recruit those guys from the Incel Army that he had referred Sebastian to? Secondly, why does he specifically need incels? Surely, he can get any hate group to do his bidding. He could get a white supremacist hate group to pull this job off or get some super-religious nutter to do the hit. I don't get the rationale for getting an incel to it so I'm hoping we'll get an explanation down the road.

Also, I want an explanation for this.

 
What the fuck is that? I saw a flash of this while watching the episode and I wasn't sure as to what I saw. I had to do some serious rewinding and timing to get this screen capture. What is this puzzle piece? What does it mean? This can't be an accident. When I saw this, it reminded me of Fight Club where Edward Norton's character is explaining how Brad Pitt's character would insert a flash of a penis during family films in the movie theatre and would confuse the audience, having them question if they saw what they really saw. Well, this isn't a dick pic but it's something that I refuse to believe was inserted accidentally. Mind you, it was seemingly inserted at a completely random place, right before Townsend was going to introduce Adam. So does it have some significance?

I'm going to be watching for more 'puzzle pieces.' They've got me intrigued now!