Parenthood "Just Like at Home"

I sure missed Parenthood during the break. The whole Julia/Joel situation is really stressing me out and I need to know what is going to happen. It is heartbreaking to watch Joel, Julia and the kids try to adjust to Joel moving out, and it's even harder because it seems so unnecessary. I totally understand why Joel is hurt and angry. He is justified in that, but I don't think he should give up so easily. It's obvious that he still loves Julia and she definitely doesn't want to give up. I hope that he can see past his hurt and anger soon and bring his family back together.

I love the Braverman siblings. I wish that I had three siblings that would drop everything and come hang out with me when I'm having a hard time, like Julia's did in this episode (not that my siblings aren't great). The family dynamic on Parenthood is what makes the show so great. They are all there for each other in a way that makes you wish you were part of it, but at the same time they aren't perfect. They have real life problems and flaws. This show is dramatic, funny, sad and happy all at once. It's fantastic. If you aren't watching it yet, you need to start! 

I tend to fixate on one storyline at a time, this season is Julia and Joel, last season it was Christina. But there are actually other things going on on the show. Sarah is starting to move on with a guy who seems really great, but then there's Hank, Drew finally confronted Amy about her hiding out in his dorm, Crosby is trying to understand Camille and Zeek deciding to put their house on the market and Adam and Christina are finally taking some time to themselves after a very difficult year. 

-Chelsea

Grey's Anatomy

"Take It Back"

I think this is probably the show I have been most excited for after the winter break. I honestly haven't been very excited about Grey's in a very long time, but the winter finale ended on a really great cliffhanger, and I love Jackson and April as a couple, so I've been giddy at the prospect of them finally being together. And I mean really being together, not just banging in bathroom stalls.

But before we get to that, I really want to discuss Jimmy. I adore James Remar, and I was so excited to see him in Grey's. He's been in two of my other top five favorite shows (Dexter and The Vampire Diaries), and I've loved him in both of those, so I was really pleased that he was going to be playing Alex's father. Especially since this is a character that his been talked about for a very long time, but we've never seen. Because of this and the fact that James Remar is such a great actor, I had really high expectations for Jimmy. And I wasn't let down. I think Remar did a great job at playing the part, and I could really see him reflect some of the bad traits we've seen in Alex over the years. I was really pretty heartbroken to see him die. I was hoping we would get to see him redeem himself a bit more before he went, but such is (TV) life.

Now onto the really good stuff....Jackson and April! I'm so happy that she picked him. I disliked April quite a lot when she first came on the show, but she's grown on me over the past season. And I love that Jackson kind of challenges everything she's ever known or believed in. I think she also brings him down to earth a bit. While they will never compare to Derek and Meredith in the early years, I think they are the new exciting couple on the show. I was worried throughout the episode that she had just freaked out and left him after the car scene at the beginning of the episode. So when we saw them together at the very end, secretly married, I got thirteen-year-old-girl excited. Grey's hasn't given me the butterflies and squees like that in a very long time, and I loved it. It'll be really interesting to see what happens with their relationship next week with the new rule the hospital is enforcing about not dating coworkers. They better not get torn apart!

It looks from the previews though like Alex and Jo might not be so lucky. They are my other favorite couple on the show. Despite the fact that he's been around since the beginning, I honestly feel indifferent about Alex. I don't hate him, but I don't love him either. But I really love Jo (she actually might be my favorite character on the show), and I think she's really good for him. I guess we will see what happens.

-LC

Scandal

"Ride Sally Ride"

Okay, let me just start by saying that Scandal is probably my favorite show at the moment. This may partly be because half of the cast was on Grey's Anatomy and/or Private Practice, two of my favorite shows of all time. Man can Shonda Rhimes write some good TV. Okay, now on to the episode.

I thought this was a really great episode. It had a fair amount of drama, and it also set up for some really interesting things we'll see play out over the rest of the season. I also really loved that it was focused on Sally. While Sally is not my favorite character on the show, I think she is one of the most dynamic right now. I love that they took a hardcore religious fanatic and made her murder her husband. We've already seen a little bit of how this is affecting Sally, but I think it will be really interesting to watch it unravel, probably over the next few seasons. This will have a lasting impact on her. I definitely see some dark and twisty times in her future.

Now let's talk about my favorite character: Cyrus. I could watch him scream at people all day long. He just does it so well. His eyes almost pop out of their sockets every time. It's fantastic. And I love the hate-filled relationship between him and James. I'm glad that James didn't just roll over and accept his new job and call things even between them. I think it's good that he's going to get his revenge, and I will love watching him do it. I can't even pick a side in this dispute because I love them both, and they are both kind of awful people. While Cyrus has obviously done worse things, I think James can also be heartless and reckless. It's going to be a good battle between the two of them.

Speaking of couples, there were some interesting new ones in this episode. I'm so happy that Olivia is dating Jake, even if it's just for show. He is really sweet, and he makes me swoon so hard. Plus I rather dislike Fitz. He uses Olivia and is just all over the place and expects to get everything he wants all the time. Kind of like a toddler. It's irritating. And then there's Mellie and this mysterious governor from California. Did they have an affair? Are they still having an affair? It looks like that will be a big focus for next week's episode, so hopefully we will find out!

Then there's Quinn. I actually like Quinn, and I was really loving the relationship between her and Huck. Now she's off playing psycho with Mr. B613, which will only lead to heartbreak (and most likely death) for her. I don't think she has what it takes to be in B613, and since she knows too much, they will eventually have to off her. What do you think?

-LC

The Vampire Diaries "No Exit"

Yay all of our shows are returning! It wasn't such a long break for

 The Vampire Diaries, but I'm still glad to have it back on. 

In this episode Katherine desperately tries to make something happen between her and 

Stefan which I found really forced and awkward and at the same time mildly entertaining. 

I didn't quite understand Katherine's plan to have Stefan kill Damon. Why does Damon 

being around have any effect on Katherine/Elena and Stefan being together? Forcing 

Stefan to kill Damon would have only made him feel guilty and pouty and he would have 

blamed Katherine/Elena for it. It was a stupid plan and I really don't get the motivation. 

The good news is that it helped the TVD gang realize that Katherine has been

 inhabiting Elena's body. I can't help but show my bias and point out that Stefan has been 

the one spending the most time with Katherine/Elena but it was Damon who first realized that something was off about her. Who knows Elena best? Just sayin'. 

Caroline and Tyler had to face each other for the first time since he learned that she slept

 with Klaus. As much as I get a sick enjoyment out of that being rubbed in Tyler's face 

and Stefan hitting him over being a jerk about it, I actually liked what Tyler had to say to 

Caroline about it. The truth is that he left her and she didn't owe anything to Tyler, but she 

can't expect him to just get over it either. 

Matt actually was pretty cunning and almost useful in this episode. I like the moments where 

Matt isn't just the pathetic human that is in the way. He tricked Nadia into thinking he was

 into her long enough to send a message to Caroline. It wasn't a complete message, but it did 

help them to finally figure out Katherine is alive. 

My prediction for next week is that Bonnie will help them get Elena back, Stefan will help 

Damon overcome his bloodlust and Matt will help Nadia find a cure for her werewolf bite 

(maybe that one's just me wanting a Joseph Morgan appearance).

The Bachelor: Weeks 7 and 8

Los Idiot

Alright, Bachelor lovers. We have quite a bit of Bachelor-ing to catch up on. I know I missed last week, life got a little bit ahead of me. So I'm mostly going to focus on the two episodes from this week, but I do want to briefly mention last week's episode. Last week's episode was really not a surprise for me at all. We pretty much knew from the previews that Sharleen was going to leave. So that wasn't shocking. Although there was a pretty heated debate at my house as to whether or not she did the right thing by leaving. I think she did. She knew that she was still having doubts and her being there was getting in the way of him potentially getting to know someone who wasn't having those doubts. I think that late in the game, if you're having doubts, it's the right thing to leave. Especially before you're getting family involved. This is a lesson that Brooks would have been very well served to learn.

But now onto this week. I feel like I have spent a good chunk of the last two nights yelling at my television about what an idiot Juan Pablo is. It's kind of infuriating. First of all, he sends Renee home just days after meeting her son. At least to me, it's been pretty obvious to me that he didn't think she was the one. And he made such a big deal about being serious with her and sending her home as soon as he knew it wasn't right since she had a son. While he definitely followed through with that with Cassandra, it just didn't happen with Renee. I think it was a really low blow for him to keep her around so long and even meet her son, then just off her. He either needed to keep her around another week just for show or get rid of her much sooner. I would go with keeping her around a week longer. That would have avoided the whole mess with Andi. Oh Andi....

I am completely with Andi on everything she said to Juan Pablo. While I obviously can't comment on anything that happened in the fantasy suite, I do think that he doesn't really care about her. At least not on a very deep level. He says in his interview that he was shocked to see her go and sad and what not, but none of that was evident in his reaction when she was talking to him. I do think that there is a language barrier, but I also think that he just doesn't like to talk about his emotions. He just brushes everything off and doesn't even care to explore why the women are feeling the way they are. Language barrier or not, he could show some compassion and interest. I don't know if he is just uncomfortable with talking about feelings or if he legitimately doesn't care, but either way, he comes off as an ass. It blew my mind that he didn't know anything real about Andi. And then he was so shocked that she knew what his religion was (which in my opinion is a pretty basic thing to know about a person). Even if he doesn't care and is just there to get his 15 minutes of fame, he needs to do a better job of at least pretending. Step up your acting skills, Juan Pablo. This is a television show.

Sending Renee home, being a jerk to Andi....all in all, Juan Pablo is an idiot.

Next week is The Women Tell All episode! I can't wait. 

Until then, Bachelor lovers!

-LC

The Bachelor: Week 6

The Birthday Blues

Surprisingly, I really don't have a lot to say about this week's episode of The Bachelor, other than that it was just really really sad that he sent Cassandra home on her birthday. That's just a little mean. Although I'm not even sure he knew it was her birthday, which wouldn't be surprising considering how clueless he is. I understand that you didn't want to wait until the rose ceremony so she could see her son, but really? On her birthday? I think that warrants waiting the extra two whole days. Which really isn't much considering they have been there for six weeks already.

I am happy that he and Clare resolved things (even though he really didn't make me feel better about that whole situation, but hey...at least he made her feel better). I'm still holding out some hope for Clare to not be crazy. Plus he obviously really likes something about her, so I don't think she's going anywhere anytime soon. If I had to call it now, I would say she will win.

Also, his date with Andi was amazing. I just love her. And them kissing under the waterfall was maybe the most romantic thing ever. It was something straight out of a Nicholas Sparks movie. I loved it. I'm hoping they will start to get closer since I would prefer her to win over Clare. We shall see though.

I was really holding out hope that Sharleen would go home this week, but the previews deceived me. I'm still holding out hope for next week though. She needs to leave! 

Well, that about sums it up for this week. I guess it's good that there wasn't much to rant about this week, but it does make for a short post.

Until next week!

-LC

The Walking Dead

"After"

So this may have just been the most depressing episode of The Walking Dead ever. See above picture of Carl for representation of how I feel after watching the episode. Basically the only positive thing in the episode was Michonne being her usual badass self and chopping off about 20 walkers heads in 30 seconds. Note to self: bring sword in case of zombie apocalypse. 

Now on to the depressing stuff....

First we start off with Hershel's decapitated walker head hanging out on the grass. As if I wasn't already depressed enough about him being killed, now they decide to "rub the wound with lemon juice" (as my roommate so eloquently put it). Seeing his walker head was really just the icing on the cake for me. I'm still not over Hershel's death, and now after that I think I've regressed in the grieving process. 

Then we have near-dead Rick. With a stab wound in his leg, the guy is limping around practically useless, having to depend on his child to protect him. It's just sad, really. For a second there when Carl was screaming at him to wake up, I thought for sure he was dead. I know they can't really kill of the main character, but I really wouldn't be too sad about it. Rick is incredibly stupid and the entire reason Hershel is dead, which again, I'm bitter about. He can go for all I care.

Then we have Carl. Barely a teenager (I think? Do we even know how old Carl is in the show?) and having to fend for himself and babysit his nimwit of a father. Seeing him eating pudding on the roof by himself and then crying with his gun pointed at what he thought was a walker just really broke my heart. Badass though he may be for his age, he's still a kid, and he needs someone to take care of him. Where is Carol when we need her?

And finally, Michonne. After her moment of superior head-chopping, she seems to reach her breaking point and collapses to the floor crying while mumbling something to someone who I presume is dead. Probably one of the men we saw in her dream at the beginning of the episode (who are those dudes anyways? Hopefully we'll find out).

Sigh....I'm glad TWD is mixing things up since the show was starting to get a little bit boring, but this is a little bit much. I feel like I'm experiencing PTSD just from watching the show. I would say hopefully next week will be better, but let's face it. We all know that's not going to happen. Especially with Glenn screaming for Maggie in the previews. Maybe we can start some kind of support group?

Until next time, fellow zombie lovers.

-LC