#and Jack’s obviously kind of a prick in this episode and he doesn’t start liking Phryne for a few more episodes

[crazy-god-bunker-jughead]

Phryne’s first episode fling has SUCH a bad Russian accent

[luuuna-rambles]

Lost Rewatch: 3x07 Not in Portland

Ah yes, Juliet episode, so prepare for misery and emotional turmoil. My kind of television!

F in the chat for Juliet’s flashback hair

As far as I’m aware, this is the first time they do the ‘Woah they’re actually not on the island’ fakeout, and it’s easily the best done here. Ethan, the facility-looking corridor Juliet’s walking down, Rachel saying “Are you afraid he'll find out?” - it all makes sense within the context of what’s happening

Wait, I thought Jack knocked that other guy in the room unconscious?

I’m not quite sure what Juliet’s plan is in getting this other guy to catch and/or kill Sawyer and Kate

Given who we learn Juliet is, I am very surprised that she was at one point married to such a prick

Not only that, but she keeps his last name! Actually, I can understand that - he seems like quite the manipulator. Quite the Ben lite

How did Alex know exactly where Sawyer and Kate where?

That’s the second person Sawyer’s called ‘Sheena’. You’d think he’d be more original

They play off Ben waking up early with Jack saying that he’s not an anaesthesiologist, but there’s quite a large difference between many hours and twenty minutes

I see Alex inherited the sass from her father

Wait; when Ben wakes up, Jack has just said that he has 40 minutes before he dies, but when Juliet comes back in Ben says he has half an hour left. It took ten minutes from Juliet to get here from just outside the building?

They seem to start building Tom up as the comic relief Other, and as possibly the seconds nicest one after Juliet. Which is an odd choice, given that this was the guy who personally kidnapped Walt and was the primary antagonist of Season 2

Ay, it’s Richard! I take back what I said about Tom being the second nicest Other

How exactly do you impregnate a male field mouse? I get that it’s supposed to be an example of Juliet being a great scientist, but... there’s no womb???

I love the cut from flashback-Juliet saying “I’m not a leader, I’m a mess”, to present-Juliet being all ‘walk walk, fashion baby’

Why is it that, in basically every tv show involving time travel, we see at least one character reading A Brief History of Time?

Karl is in Room 23

Kate says that her threatening to shoot that random guy’s knee ‘wasn’t a con’ - great line, by the way, great to see Kate being Kate - but we’ve already established that they don’t have any bullets left, so it had to be a con

The scene where Rachel tells Juliet that she’s pregnant gets me every time

So Juliet’s ex-husband being hit by a bus was obviously Richard. But why would he do that, when Juliet would obviously be suspicious. Why not hit him with a car?

If Tom doesn’t like blood, why was he in the surgery in the first place? 

Tom says they can’t take Ben to a facility since they sky turned purple, but surely they were planning this whole Jack manipulation thing for a while beforehand, right? Hell, they sky turned purple as Jack was being captured. Why couldn’t they have taken Ben to a facility beforehand?

So, does Juliet have no emotional reaction to shooting a colleague? Hell, as far as we know, this is the first time she’s ever shot anyone - surely that would have an affect on a person?

Jack asks Kate to promise not to come after him, but then hangs up before she can

Ughhh, when you’re breaking down crying over the death of your ex-husband, Ethan’s face is definitely not one you’re gonna want to see

Why the hell would Richard decide to show up at the morgue? Does he want Juliet to put two and two together?

“I've been on this island for 3 years, Jack. 3 years, 2 months, and 28 days. He said that if I let him live and I helped you -- that he would finally let me go home.” - that really hurts when you know what happens to her in the end

Overall Review:

I really enjoy this episode. Most of the stuff with basically every character I don’t care all that much about, but Juliet! It’s at this point where you realise that everything’s not so black and white - maybe not all these Others are as bad as they first appear

Overall Rating: 8.4/10

[retrauxpunk]

sv 6.04

spoiler-filled recap post under the cut

WHAT THE FUCK

i swear every single episode is gonna have me feeling like that because IT’S SO INTENSE i think i’ve forgotten how intense this show is because it’s prior to the release of s6 it’s been 2 years since i watched new episodes? and so i just know the storylines quite well and am familiar with everything?

but jesus christ!!

hhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh

okay let’s start at the beginning:

FUCK ethan!!

WHAT THE FUCK

I had the vague inkling of a feeling that bringing on ethan would be the same as bringing on the carver, russ hanneman, jack barker, etc. in that it would seem to be good at first and then it would magnificently blow up AND THAT’S EXACTLY WHAT HAPPENED WHAT THE FUCK

there were so many intertwined storylines in this episode? i feel like there were more than usual? there was: richard and his conflict with ethan; gavin’s book thing; monica’s misadventures with feminism; gilfoyle’s budding friendship with john stafford (I STAN); jared’s story with his parents and gwart

THERE WAS SO MUCH.

last episode my fingers couldn’t keep up with my thoughts because it was such an amazing uplifting kickass episode, but this time i just feel, i dunno, kind of clogged with feelings/thoughts because there was a lot that happened in this episode and it was................ MOSTLY SAD????? mostly unpleasant?????? like it was a great episode but all the things that happened to the characters were like ... real shitty

HOLY SHIT the guy who plays ethan is SO GOOD at playing the role of the emotionally manipulative jackass prick who mistreats you and then acts like you’re the shitty one if you don’t ‘play along with the fun’ and so on like HOLY MOTHERFUCKER those types of people are the fucking worst and god i wish richard’s punch hand gotten him in the mouth instead or something (more on that later)

!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! he was so terrible to richard! it fucking hurt! i was with dinesh! i watched richard’s balls getting kicked and my balls hurt in solidarity!! fuck!!

????!

richard what are you doing

it was, no lie, a little nice and fuzzy and heartwarming to see dinesh like sticking up for richard and trying to help him

even if it’s through the ‘dumbest thing i’ve ever seen’, that alpha male video. 

WHAT WAS THAT

THAT WAS LEGIT like something out of IT’S ALWAYS SUNNY IN PHILADELPHIA what the FUCK

i don’t object to it being in the show because, y’know, it’s within the bounds of the absurdities of the show and so on, but

WHAT! that had the exact same energy as the fight milk ads!!

i really like that richard’s initial reaction was ‘this is the dumbest thing i’ve ever seen’. what a shame he succumbed to it!!! ........but at least it wasn’t something worse that he succumbed too i guess???

POOR RICHARD

this is one of those episodes where i am entirely on richard’s side and have no complaints about him, he didn’t do anything wrong

omg i just remembered when he caught ethan’s eye in the opening scene and waved him in because of ‘dumb social shit’ (#relatable) ................WAS THAT BECAUSE HE WAS REFLEXIVELY REGRESSING TO HIS DOWNTRODDEN WAYS from when he was ethan’s report and was consistently having to defer to him and put up with his shit? and that’s why when ethan motions to like invite himself into richard’s office, that’s why richard just invites him in?

yeah that’s my opinion now

........

IT HURTS

IT HURTS WATCHING RICHARD GET KICKED AROUND BY ETHAN

WHAT THE FUCK DUDE

this is one of those times when richard’s like, trying to do a good/right thing and be nice and so on WHEN HE SHOULDN’T BE. like when he was ‘trying to respect’ erlich by refusing to hire jared patakian despite erlich giving him his blessing. and (to a lesser extent) when he went to have those chats with seth after gilfoyle stole the endframe login credentials, and when he gifted laurie some pied piper credits (where they credits? don’t remember the word)

UGH he was trying to be ~chill~ and not so uptight and so on BUT NO THIS IS NOT THE TIME RICHARD and no this is not what being a cool/nice person is! it is not putting up with this kind of shit!

i just felt so bad for him!!!

WHAT THE FUCK IS ETHAN’S PROBLEM

god what a cock

I’M SO GLAD RICHARD PUNCHED HIM IN THE FACE and honestly??? i wish the punch had fucking landed!! for once i’m sick of richard being an ineffectual klutz! i want him to try to kick ass and succeed!!! god!!

that’s what i want out of season 6, one (1) time when richard tries to do something physically badass like socking a deserving douchebag in the face and actually succeeds

can’t fucking believe he bought into dinesh’s dumbfuck alpha male video. UGH RICHARD

i mean at..........at least it makes him........feel better? idk

(in my personal hc richard manages to watch that fucking always sunny style video and not develop misogynistic tendencies as consequence because that would be lame if it happened)

I JUST HAD TO TAKE A BREAK FROM WRITING THIS RECAP BECAUSE IT WAS SUCH AN INTENSE EPISODE

6.3 was intense in the same way that like an adrenaline-fuelled ultimately victorious battle is intense, or like, idk, the lovechild of MDMA and acid???

6.4 is intense like the COMEDOWN. god

IT IS THE COMEDOWN, it’s the terrible fucking low that occurs in the wake of the soaring high of buying hooli!! fuck!!!!!!!!!!!!

okay so that’s the richard storyline covered

um

y’know i was suspicious when ethan wanted to move things onto hooliphones, i thought it was maybe some kind of thing to sabotage pied piper in some way? but now i see maybe it’s just a way to get himself a job. and the bullying of richard is a way to soothe his own fragile ego i guess? hmm

gilfoyle’s friendship with john stafford! I LOVE IT! i love that the guy from the underground pits of jack barker’s box plan has returned! and he announces each hooliphone the way he announced each box ... excellent callback. AND THEY PLAY CHESS! AND HE BEAT GILFOYLE EVERY SINGLE TIME! YES!!! 

GILFOYLE WHY DID YOU DELETE HIS FRIEND REQUEST

YOU WERE GONNA ACCEPT IT

YOUR CURSOR WAS HOVERING

WHY THE FUCK

some kind of lame-as-fuck attempt to maintain an idea of power in the dynamic? viewing the vulnerability of accepting a friend request as somehow being weak/lame?? just upset because he lost so many chess games??

hope it’s the the last one becaues that’s the least lame/sad of the three i thinkkkk

also his fucking feed full of dinesh hate. what a loser lmao perfectly suited to dinesh

i want them to kiss

ummmmmmmm monica!! lmao i enjoyed how they made her a female character who is successful but not actually personally interested in being a feminist activist, because i think that’s a thing that’s pretty real/relatable. like, you can be a woman who believes in gender equality but who doesn’t actually do stuff to actively advocate for it, and i think that’s a lot of people, and honestly i don’t think i’m quite like monica (i wouldn’t say the things she said about foxhole HAHAHHA) but i relate to it! i’m not a very politically active person at all, my ~activism is limited to being generally educated on stuff and calling out/discussing shitty things if friends/colleagues say them. so i guess i felt seen? #guiltyfeminist

when monica went to the panel........... and then priyanka totally outshone her ........ i felt a little bad for monica but she was pawning off foxhole to priyanka entirely selfishly because she herself didn’t want to be involved and so i didn’t feel too bad for her :pp

good on priyanka! all that stuff  she’s doing sounds awesome!

except the beginning where she referenced her ‘network of awesome women coders’ or something like that, i found that phrasing uhhhhhhh cringey. cliquey. didn’t like it, but that’s just my subjective feeling. also i suspect it was meant to be a little satirical of uberwokeness so fair :P

richard giving monica foxhole ‘for optics’ and then doing the handwavey ‘just make it work, for women’ ........ a brilliant sad-funny representation of extremely superficial and empty meaningless ‘feminism’

laurie lasering in on gwart because she’s also eating that vegetable in a weird way! nice.

OKAY JARED? JARED

FUCK

we see him set up in pied piper’s offices meaning he at least took up richard’s offer which is nice

his parents?

fuck ‘em

they deserve to rot, obviously

sociopaths

i............................... it was an upsetting scene, i’m not sure why it’s in the show............ perhaps to give rise to jared’s whole ‘i must have rejected them and rejected everyone else who’s been kind’ thing that he’s doing in a desperate bid to understand/make sense of his suffering ....... which gives rise to his thing about rejecting richard...

i guess maybe he’s doing that thing where he’s repeating past cycles of trauma/abandonment? that’s what’s (at least partially) driving his stubborn refusal to rejoin richard? is it that he (on some not-necessarily-conscious level) believes himself unworthy of happiness and self-sabotages? and all of that mixes with his fear of fucking up pied piper with his feelings (the way he did in 6.1) and that keeps him away from richard?

I DON’T KNOW IT’S COMPLICATED AND MAKES ME SAD

that thing he said about how he has to stay with gwart . .............. god this stupid entirely arbitrary rule he’s set for himself, it’s so fucking painful

ETHAN’S REPENTANCE WAS DUE TO THREAT FROM HOLDEN? WOW

um

good on you holden i guess!! .....?

i HATE the whole ‘jared threatening holden and emotionally abusing him into the perfect assistant for richard’ arc because that was painful and i feel like it was played for laughs but i didn’t find it funny or good at all

so in this case it was kinda vindicating to see holden no longer terrified of jared and kind of sassing him (’don’t you have somewhere to be’)

..............what was with the end of the cold open where richard’s like ‘holden i wanted water’??? or something? didn’t holden give him the water partway through ethan’s presentation? ugH

GWART FIRING JARED

FUCK YES! THANK YOU GWART

JARED TALKING ABOUT HOW HE’S FREE TO GO WITH RICHARD

HOLY FUCK

YEAH SO OF COURSE OUR BOY JARED WANTS TO BE WITH RICHARD and now that gwart (his temporarily chosen ‘leader’/person to be devoted to) has given him orders (and therefore permission) to fuck off, he CAN BE WITH RICHARD without feeling like he’s, i dunno, being disloyal.

HURRAH

so the episode ENDS on jared asserting that there is a space for him to be with richard? homg seems like 6.5 is gonna go HEAVY ON THE JARRICH again?????

HNNNG

this was a tense episode and i’m upset

like it was a decent episode, i didn’t think it was bad quality, i’m just sad

[roslinadama-sinequanon]

Major Crimes-Conspiracy Theory Pt. 2

To me, this episode was all about foreshadowing. I am not ashamed to admit that I am super nervous about tonight’s episodes. I almost don’t want to watch them live so I can be prepared for whatever trauma might be in store. 

“Okay, what happened?” Loved to see Sharon taking control of a crime scene again. 

“Yeah, I just, uh, needed to sit down."

Oh yeah, here we go. Gotta have Sharon collapsing at the crime scene. Grr…

“Nolan, call Andy to come pick her up.”“No, no. I don’t need anyone to pick me up.”

This is personal, he is Andy--not Flynn. This has to be so hard for an independent woman like Sharon--to be treated as weak and helpless. It’s so hard to watch this happen to her. 

“I am the incident commander and I will not have you collapsing in my crime scene. Now you are overdoing it. I will call paramedics….” Yes Dad. Love Provenza’s little lecture here, finger pointing included. He’s so worried about her and this runs full circle. The last time we heard Provenza remind her that he was the incident commander was in episode one when he thought he was going to be running Major Crimes and Sharon shows up at the crime scene. Remember him asking her if she understood English. In that scene he was pissed at her, but now 6 years later he is very worried about her. 

Sharon tries to ignore what happened by questioning what they are seeing at the scene. Everyone is like WTF, you just nearly collapsed and now you’re acting as if nothing happened? None respond to her except Cami, she starts to feed into Sharon’s questioning and the others all start giving her bug eyed “don’t encourage her “looks. Julio’s was especially funny.

“No shit Sherlock, she’s stiff as a board.” I’ve noticed there is a lot more swearing taking place this season and more risqué comments.  I wonder if that had to do with trying to be edgier. I always thought that maybe they weren’t allowed to use certain words but evidently, that wasn’t the case. We’ve heard shit and tits and ass and pubic hair and all kinds of things we never really heard much of over the past 6 years. It feels more real somehow. More how real cops would talk. 

“Uh, Sir, Lt. Flynn will be here in 10” Did Wes address Provenza because he gave the order or was he afraid to tell Sharon “Your husband will be here to pick you up in 10 minutes,” knowing she wouldn’t be pleased that he made that call. As it is, Provenza just gets a sidelong glance from her. 

“When your life is at stake you put up a fight.” Foreshadowing for Sharon? If so, I hope she does fight and doesn’t just give up. In the next episode, she is supposed to have a very moving scene with her priest. My big fear has been that she will be offered a heart transplant option (which would be crazy to move from this could clear up, to you already need a heart transplant)but that there is great risk involved and she talks to Father Stan about it and decides not to do the transplant and just let "Gods will" take over where her illness is concerned. I hope that isn’t the case, because Sharon Raydor is a fighter. I want to see that side of her again.

“We don’t have the newest stun guns?” Interesting that the criminals have better weapons than the cops do.

“Commander how are you feeling?”

“Much better. The extra rest helped. Thank you.”

“Yeah, you see Sharon Raydor slept in and the world didn’t implode.” As soon as Sharon enters the room Provenza immediately jumps up and holds his chair out for her. He's so happy to see her looking well. I was also surprised to hear Sharon admit that the extra rest helped her. I wonder if Provenza knows her diagnosis. Even if the rest the team doesn't know, Sharon and Andy are friends with Provenza and Patrice. Since Patrice is a nurse I could see Sharon discussing her illness with her, and let's face it, Andy needs someone to support him. He's trying so hard to be strong for Sharon. I hope he has someone who is doing the same for him.

“Safety issues, my safety.” This director guy is such a prick. He won’t allow real stun guns on his sets because he treats women so badly he’s afraid they may use one on him. Some men are just oblivious but this guy knows he's a predator.

“Hi Andrea, long time no see.” Love the glare Andrea gives Gus. She’s not letting him off the hook. Gus questions Rusty about Andrea’s attitude and gets mad, asking if Rusty told her why they broke up and if everyone hates him. I get why Gus wouldn’t want them all to know, but Rusty had every right to tell them why he and Gus broke up.  Gus did cheat, he obviously knew what he was doing was wrong, so, sorry if now he is embarrassed by it. He should have thought of that before jumping into bed with Aiden.

“What Aiden did to us is immoral.” Well Rusty, you are only half-right there. Aiden didn’t do it to them, Aiden AND Gus did this to Rusty. They both deserve blame, in fact; I think Gus deserves more blame. He was the one who was in a relationship, he was the one who hurt a person he supposedly loved. 

“I felt like I’m being bought for sex…It’s gross.” Ouch! That was below the belt Gus. Rusty is still struggling with the shame of his past and it was a big sticking point in his relationship with Gus so for Gus to say this, knowing how badly Rusty feels about himself, was really crummy.

“Well, just so you know when I was being bought for sex I never made 10 grand ever. So if that is what this is for it must have been some spectacular sex, Gus.” Great response Rusty.

“Suddenly a lot of people like you would start coming forward.” It’s almost as if they predicated the #me too phenomena going on right now. Aiden caved in to Rusty because he knew there were others out there who would come forward to corroborate Gus’s story if it went public.

“You’re stronger than you think.” I almost feel like everything that is being said in this episode is foreshadowing for the awful things that are coming Sharon’s way. Especially after seeing the preview at the end of the episode.

“You’re not my type. You’re too far over 30.” Cami can be annoying and she doesn’t have much range when it comes to facial expressions, but she is starting to grow on me.

“Your college diploma.”

“I never could have done it without you, Mom.” He’s so right. Just look at where he is right now. Thanks to Sharon, he has a life he never could have dreamed of 6-7 years ago when she took him in. Chances are he’d still be homeless, still be prostituting himself or he’d be dead if she hadn’t taken him in. Now he’s attended a private school, had tutoring and counseling, has graduated from college and been accepted to law school and is interning with a DDA. 

However, more than that he has a love and stability in his life he never had before. He has siblings, a step-father, probably grandparents we never hear about anymore and above all a mother's unconditional love.

Sharon getting so emotional, crying at the kitchen counter seemed so strange and almost scary. Until she told Andy she had cardiomyopathy we never saw Sharon with anything more than tears swimming in her eyes. It just never happened--at least on screen. I am glad we are finally getting to see the private emotional Sharon, the Sharon behind the mask she has to wear at work.

“This is everything I wanted for you; this is everything I dreamed of. I’m sorry, I’m sorry, I’m sorry.” Sharon was the only one who saw something in Rusty, who knew he could be more than he was and that she would be able to reach him. She saw a future for him that even he didn’t see (remember Rusty’s ‘kids like me don’t get into college and we both know that’) She dealt with a lot of crap from him over the years but now she is seeing the fruits of her labor and it is overwhelming to her.  I think also this has a lot to do with her illness. She knows that if something happens to her Rusty is on the right path and I also think a part of her is afraid that after all her dreams for him she may not get to live to see them play out.

I thought it was great how comfortable she was passing off her used tissue to Andy and accepting his handkerchief. Andy was completely unfazed. Seems like this has happened before.These are all the little things we could have been seeing over the past two years to get a feel for Shandy as a couple. I feel like we’ve learned far more about them in five episodes this season than we ever did over the past 6 years. So much was overlooked and ignored and that makes me sad.  We could have had this all along.

“Hey, there’s a lot going on.” Andy gets it. He knows that she is over emotional because of her diagnosis. 

“Now if we can only keep him safe.”“We’ll keep him safe.” I love how easy and confidently Andy said that. And for once I hope this is foreshadowing. I hope both Andy and Sharon will be part of keeping Rusty safe during the Stroh storyline and that Sharon isn’t sidelined because of her illness.

“Oh, my son the lawyer.” Rusty is going to have the chance to be what she wanted to be.I wonder if part of why Rusty has been so focused and has not let his feelings or his relationship with Gus interfere with his plans for his future because he knows what happened to Sharon. Sharon had the same dream only she let her relationship with Jack get in the way---and eventually derail---that dream. He isn't going to let that happen to him. Sharon and Rusty are different people. Sharon leads by her heart, Rusty by his head. Sharon will always put the people she loves above professional ambition--even now (giving up the NFL job) Rusty is more like Brenda in that regard. Luckily Sharon ended up where she was supposed to be and I think she would say that she doesn't have any regrets.

“This is the happiest I have ever been in my entire life. I have three children through college and a perfect husband. Thank you, thank you, thank you.” Sharon has mentioned the college thing before. She makes it a point to tell Taylor that Jack never contributed to their kid’s college funds and I think that was probably a pretty big burden that she had shoulder alone. So, it’s no wonder she got emotional about this. She was able to get all three of her children through college on her own and now she has the perfect husband with whom to share her life--not the one who was never there for her or her kids. She’s come so far. 

Also, while walking down the aisle at her wedding she told Ricky that her heart had NEVER been so full, so we have been getting a lot of confirmation that Sharon is at the happiest point in her life. She has never felt so much love and or felt so blessed. Her saying she’s the happiest she’s ever been and that Andy is the perfect husband is, I think, my second favorite scene of this season--after the I love you so so much scene. I just have to wonder why we were never allowed to see what a big impact Andy has had on Sharon’s life, how happy she is, how much she loves him. It’s like this is all new and the writers woke up and said “hey I think  they love each other, maybe it’s time to show that” There are some people who say they never got Shandy because there was such a lack of intimacy portrayed in the relationship--that it seemed more a friendship rather than romantic love. Well, those people must be feeling the love now. 

I also thought it was sweet that Sharon thanked Andy, thanked Rusty and looked up to the heavens and thanked God and how when she hugged Rusty the last time, Andy rested his hand on them. Such a sweet little family moment.

“Aiden destroyed my relationship which was very important to me.” No Rusty, again, Aiden AND Gus ruined the relationship. 

“You just let me go, without a heads up.” Okay. Gus, you are an adult human being. You have something called free will. If someone comes on to you, you can say no. You don’t need a heads up that someone might make a move on you to say no. Also, Rusty wasn’t wrong in saying that he didn’t want to make Gus feel bad. They were in a pretty bad place when Gus left and if Rusty had told Gus that Aiden only wanted him for the job because he had the hots for him, Gus would have accused him of trying to ruin his big chance and probably would have put him on a guilt trip for not believing in him. Gus needs to take responsibility for something HE did. He could have said no that first time. Aiden only threatened his job after Gus slept with him and wouldn’t continue to sleep with him.

The water bottle scene--This was a little odd. Andy surreptitiously hands Sharon a water bottle, which she promptly hides behind her back. This is odd because a few seconds later she pops a pill and drinks from the bottle in front of everyone. So, I’m not sure why she hid the bottle behind her back. Now, the question is, what do people know? They all had funny looks on their faces when she did this. Because they don’t know why she is taking pills and collapsing at crime scenes? Or because they know why and are worried about her? The previews showed her talking to Mason about what’s going on, but I can’t believe he is completely in the dark. Sharon always follows the rules and I think that would mean that she alerted her immediate supervisor about her condition, the same way Andy had to with Provenza and then her.

“Shut your mouth, you don’t know what you’re talking about bitch.”

“Sit down.”

“No it’s okay Wes, let the big man hit the girl. Go for it asshole.” This guy has serious violent anger issues against women. It reminds me back to the good old days when Sharon got to be the bad ass and got a perp to punch her in the face.

“It’s wonderful, don’t you think, working with your family.” Aww…Sharon loves working with Andy.

“We must adapt, adapt adapt.” Geez, do you think they could have hit us harder over the heads with all this foreshadowing. All that talk about how you can plan and plan for the future but you never really know what it holds for you and how all that planning is both a strength and debilitating weakness if you aren’t able to adapt. Oh Lordy, Sharon’s future just gets scarier and scarier.

The doctor’s office in Beverly Hills- The first scene after commercial breaks and after we’ve been hit over the head with all that future foreshadowing is Sharon and Andy on an elevator. Sharon is clutching onto Andy’s arm and her head is resting on his shoulder. It is such a tender, affectionate and intimate moment between the two. Why oh why is this the first we are seeing of this kind of loving gesture? 

The elevator doors open and it is interesting that it is Andy who steps out and starts to lead the way. Sharon is clutching his arm and almost hiding behind him, to the point that Andy thinks she might be feeling light headed.

BTW-Loved Sharon's long skirt two piece dress and Andy's leather jacket. I love that Sharon's personal wardrobe is so different from work, softer--though I LOVE her work wardrobe too.And Andy is so sexy in his leather jacket. I agree with everyone about Sharon’s shoes though--looks like in an earlier scene Sharon was wearing Mary's clunky Dansko clogs as I've seen Mary wearing them between takes. The shoes were not attractive and didn't seem very "Sharon".

“If anything were to happen, please look after my children.”

“Of course.” Sharon is such a mother. Like most mothers, her biggest concern is for her children and what might happen to them if she dies. She knows she can’t count on Jack to be there for them--hence one of her reasons for taking the job in FID. She had to try to be as safe as possible because she was the only parent her children had. I think that weighed heavily on her for a long time. But now she has a man she can trust and count on to take care of them if she isn’t able to.

“We’ll be two injured hearts beating as one.”

“My God that sounds like a bad country western song.” I love the way Andy can always make Sharon smile or laugh, even when she’s feeling bad. He’s always had this ability with her and I think it is one of things about him that she fell in love with early on.

“How did I get so lucky?”

“I think because you finally gave in, really.” Here Andy acknowledges what we all know. He’s been the leader in this relationship. His feelings have been clear from the start. It was Sharon who had all the baggage. But he never gave up on her. He patiently led her along until she finally realized she was in the same place as he and gave herself over to the love she had for him.

“I’ve been so happy in my life, but walking through that door to see another doctor could change everything.”

“Not everything, never everything.” Oh Andy Flynn you sweet, sweet man. I loved the way they cupped each other’s cheeks when he said that. Andy really is everything Sharon needs right now. He is there for her every step of the way. He’s her rock and she’s just clutching on to him for dear life trying to keep from drowning in her fears. Even when they had to let go of each other to go through the door, Sharon immediately reaches back for him again and he pulls her in close. While I am not a fan of this storyline (unless it ends well of course), it is nice to see this vulnerable side to Sharon. The woman who once had to handle everything on her own now has someone to share that burden. Andy is strong and reassuring. He eases her fears by promising he will be there for her children should something happen to her --even though he tells her nothing bad will happen. He brings humor to their situation and makes her laugh, and then just before she goes in to see the doctor he  reminds her that whatever the doctor says, whatever changes may happen, the one thing that will NEVER change is his love for her and the fact that he will always be by her side. SWOON.

[furederiko]

"Go back to being the Big Bro I cared about!" Blood vs bond, true brotherhood is put to the test... only in Kyuranger episode 20.

- As the title suggests, our new episode picks up directly with the fight between Stinger and Scorpio. It's praiseworthy that Stinger wants to settle thing by going solo, to not endanger more Kyurangers. But clearly he's acting reckless all over again. He might be forgetting that technically Scorpio has been powered-up by Don Armage to be a Menaster-level, and a single Kyuranger couldn't stand a chance against one. Basically... it's suicide. His good intention to prevent others from catching fire like Champ backfires too. Obviously, Commander Xiao is heading towards his location alongside last week's away team (minus Balance, who is instructed to handle the Orion), even if their goal is to retrieve the Argo Navis Kyu Globes. At the same time, Kotarou heads out from the HQ, vowing to the nearly-completed Champ to save Stinger. Everyone's walking towards danger nonetheless! - To even out the battle, Stinger poisons himself to perform some kind of... power-up. Antares, is a secret technique passed down in his tribe. It boosts the power and durability, but with the cost of the user's own life. Not really useful, because as I've mentioned, he's no longer dealing with a regular Scorpio. Then again, it gives just enough time for Leo Red's team to arrive, and actually takes back the Puppis Kyu Globe from Scorpio's hand. The baddie spends too much time doing maniacal-laugh anyway. LOL. TRIVIA: Antares is the brightest star in the Scorpius Constellation. It's also the name of Scorpio Milo's deadliest attack in "Saint Seiya", which in a way, works similarly too. Don't act surprised! You know that this show does take plenty of reference from that TOEI Animation series, right? - Oh wait a sec, turns out there's another casualty in this battle *sigh*. Ophiucus Silver reacts quickly and freezes Scorpio with his glare, but in return leaving himself out in the open. So when Scorpio easily breaks the spell... Naga becomes his next victim. Fortunately, he's not as 'bad' as Champ. Not content with that, Scorpio takes his own brother as hostage, using him as leverage for the Kyurangers to hand over Puppis. The Kyurangers (including Kotarou) then discover a secret message that Stinger left behind, via the #29 Capricorn Kyu Globe. Describing the side-effect of Antares, Stinger is committed to sacrifice himself to prevent his friends from getting hurt. Clearly, Kotarou is angry to hear him doing such selfish act and runs off into battle. Lucky is thinking the same thing, because he believe they can't give up trying to save Stinger. - But since this is Tokusatsu, before they can even figure out what to do, the new fleet of Consumarz lands on Earth. Scorpio even broadcasts Fake-News putting the blame for Earth's destruction to the Kyuranger. Oucch!! Looks like someone has been studying under Mr. Trump...*sigh*. Balance continues his work to babysit the Orion, as well as three of its injured member (Garu, Raptor, and Naga), while Xiao and the others depart to confront Scorpio. Their mission, to rescue a comrade, and hopefully Earth at the same time. Can they do that, while Earthlings are furiously parading, protesting and demanding the Kyurangers to take the responsibility? - Quick flashback time! Stinger realizes that the search for strength have warped Scorpio's mind. He also feels that his weakness is the cause to this 'devilish change'. Aaawwww. Sadly, Scorpio admits that he have always tried to be strong for his sake only. Not for others, not even for his little brother who used to look up to him. And then he poisons Stinger into a Zombie. Dang it... evil prick is EVIL! - Speaking of evil prick, the Earthlings are pretty much the same. Kotarou tries to reason with them, to bring them to their senses, but it's no use. These jerks start throwing rocks and things at the team instead! I don't know about you, but this is a moving scene. Spada being a gentleman by shielding Hammy from the mob. Lucky preventing them from injuring Kotarou, who is one of their own. And then he reminds the boy, who's embarassed to see how pathetic his own kind is behaving, that they do it just because they are scared. What a striking metaphor to the situation we're dealing in real life right now! Because yes, many times people discriminate others who are 'different' due to their own hidden internal fear. It's indeed a powerful moment for the team. - Draco Commander has to take care of the giants (two Indavers, plus a Consumarz later on) with Chamaeleon Green and Dorado Yellow using Ryutei-Oh (hey, there has to be a mecha battle somewhere, right?), so it's up to Leo Red and Ursa Minor Skyblue to deal with Scorpio. Nope, correction... Scorpio and Zombie-Stinger! Of course, the division is to be expected. Leo Red deals with Scorpio, while Ursa Minor Skyblue tries to break Stinger from the brainwashing. - The latter is the gut-wrenching one, because clearly double-jacked-up Zombie-Stinger is way too powerful for the youngest Kyuranger to deal with. Zombie-Stinger is beating Ursa Minor Skyblue senseless! But that doesn't faze Kotarou. He's determined to save Stinger, because Stinger is "the big brother that I'm proud of!". Holy camoly... GOOSEBUMPS. The chills of seeing Kotarou evading Stinger's attacks to inject an antidote... is indescribable. Not unlike Stinger, he'll do anything to get his Big Bro back! And that HUG... wow, I think some smoke just gets in my eyes. - Also, it's truly a brilliant touch to have the presence of Champ's Kyu Globe serving as the final piece of the puzzle (spoiler alert... the robot's waking up!). Particularly because Stinger is currently in the position of complete opposite to what Champ wanted him to do. This is where an outspoken person like Lucky fits right in. Sure, some would argue that Stinger hasn't necessarily had a good amount of team-bonding moment with the band to justify his view on 'friendship'. But do consider the camaraderie they've developed during those many off-screen missions. Beside, Stinger is pretty much the average Japanese-tsundere of the team. It makes sense that he's hiding his true emotion underneath the 'cool' facade, right? After all, the message of this episode is, 'You are stronger because you have friends'. In my opinion, it's conveyed nicely...

Overall: Kyuranger is not a flawless show. Many times it's great, sometimes it's really good, and other times it's just okay ('okay' and not 'bad', the lowest score I've given so far is still above 7). It's as fluctuative as my mood swing... and/or my financial condition. Yet when it's involving emotional beats? It hits all the right spot, and delivers with flying colors. The story might be focused on Stinger, a closure to his solo arc. But I believe Kotarou owned it, and turned it into his focus episode! He's totally the MVP, as his actor demonstrated one-heck of an amazing acting chop. For real, those emotions overflow? Aaaah... the FEELS!!! This boy's definitely going places after this, you can count on it. Balanced with intense and fierce action sequences, the question of morality, and the message of sacrifice for friendship... this was undeniably one of the series' finests. Next week: Curtain call for Scorpio! Back in Black!! And the Immortal Bird arrives...!!! PS: After the episode, there was a Summer Movie campaign for #18 Herakles Kyu Globe. It was then followed by the first official commercial for Phoenix Blade & Phoenix Shield, packaged with the #12 Phoenix Kyu Globe! Over-Time didn't include them in their fansub, but it's not wrong to say that three new Kyu Globes actually debuted last Sunday. One more thing, starting in October, the Super Hero Time will have a new air-time, and that includes the Super Sentai franchise. TOEI announced yesterday, that "Uchu Sentai Kyuranger" will be moved from 07:30AM JST into 09:30AM JST. I know that October is still 3 months away, but you might want to update your schedule accordingly right away...

Episode 20 Score: 8,4 out of 10

Visit THIS LINK to view a continuously updated listing of the Kyutama / Kyu Globes. Last Updated: July 2nd, 2017 - Version 2.06. (WARNING: It might contain spoilers for future episodes)

All images are screencaptured from the series, provided by the FanSubber Over-Time. "Uchu Sentai Kyuranger" is produced by TOEI, and airs every Sunday on TV-Asahi. Credits and copyrights belong to their respective owners.