Monday Night!
Oh, show. SHOW. You shouldn't have. But I am so, so glad that you did!
More on that in a bit, though.
First up - Brooke/Julian/Alex. No no no NO. I mean, okay, we all know how this is going to turn out, right? Julian clearly did not sleep with Alex, he let her sleep in his room because of the issues she was having with her next-door suite. But, still. It looked bad, and I wanted to reach out and hug poor gorgeous Brooke. Of course, then I wanted to smack the show around for throwing this obvious setup at us.
On a slightly related note - Alex Squared is still made of win.
Victoria finally taking a lover - oh, YAY! My gut feeling is that it is not actually Gentle Paul, so I'm curious to see how that turns out. I was, however, very sad that she got stood up. Aww! I still kind of can't believe that I'm rooting for Bitchtoria to win all.
Clay and the Tennis Twin - whatevs. Yes, Quinn and Clay have been happy for too long by this show's standards, but.....I don't know. I'm withholding judgment until I see more.
The cancer storyline....I admit, I could see both sides of it. If I were in Haley's shoes, I would be fighting against this with everything I had. So I totally don't blame her. At the same time, I also see where Patty Chase has had to deal with this and accept it, and being forced to keep trying for a cure tears down all that progress. So, I get it. I also really love Nathan being so damned supportive and awesome. Not that I didn't think he would be, but it was still great to see him try to help Haley face this.
I have to say, I was on Haley's side regarding Patty Chase telling Jamie that she was dying. I used to have this rant whenever Lucas decided he should tell Jamie something (i.e., Grandpa Dan kills people!) without even consulting with the kids' parents first. However, I think her mother made that choice in the moment, and if she'd thought it through, she probably would have realized it was best to include Haley and Nathan.
I also liked Clay pointing out to Quinn that at least she has time to say goodbye. If anyone knows that, it's Clay. Of course, it was pretty obvious that was thrown in there, in part, to send us headlong into this Tennis Twin story, but whatever. I'll take it.
Grubbs and Miranda - still love them SO much. He made her talk like a pirate! They are so adorable and delightful. What is it with this show? If there is a character that I hate, it's usually a guarantee that, within a season, they will make me squeal in glee. See: Quinton, Sam, Victoria, Alex, etc. etc.
Randon Leery Actor (Josh?) and his slo-mo entrance, complete with Victoria practically cooing "Hello sailor"? YES. More of that, please. Also, it has to be a boost to Daphne Zuniga's ego that pretty much every young male character on this show is written to think she's hot.
Except Julian, of course.
Brooke: Apparently, he was "gentle".
Julian: What?!
Mouth and Lauren - well, damn it. I kind of like them. I know, right? It's so wrong on every level. I mean, I don't WANT Mouth and Millicent to get back together, because I think it would be detrimental to both characters......but it's still really awkward for Mouth to get a new girlfriend while Millie is living with him and dealing with her sobriety. At the same time - he can't put his entire life on hold because of that. Hell, this is a problem she's going to deal with forever. So what, he's not supposed to date ever again? It's complicated....
....but of course, the biggest problem is the elephant in the room Los Angeles: Skills. No matter how I try to spin it, it's really kind of a dick move for Mouth to go after Skills' girl. Yes, I get the strong feeling that Lauren and Skills technically broke up when he left, but dude.....that's breaking code right there. It's not like Skills and Lauren broke up because they didn't like each other anymore, it was just a distance thing. So that's really kind of awkward and there's no excuse for it.
Except, damn it, Mouth is so much more TOLERABLE with Lauren. And I really, really need Mouth to start being tolerable again. Granted, it may not last - I'm sure I gushed over Mouth and Millie at some point in the past - but for now.....ugh. They're sort of cute, and I sort of hate myself for thinking they're cute. Sorry, Skills.
But now to the most important part of the episode. Get ready for the caps, you guys.
IT'S OWEN! OWEN IS BACK! OOOOOWWWWEEEENNNN!
(I may have totally shrieked when I saw him, but I'm not admitting to anything).
I didn't pay any attention to the credits, so it was a total (and lovely!) surprise. Yes, I'd mentioned before the rumor that he was coming back....but to be honest, I couldn't remember where I had heard that, and I was starting to think it was just me being crazy. But no! Not crazy! (Okay, a little crazy).
When the camera panned across the crowd at the meeting, I knew there was going to be somebody there Millie knew. And of course, I had the thought of "It would be awesome if it was Owen!", but like I said, I'd kind of given up hope. That thought was kind of on par with "It would be awesome if it was Chris Keller!" No, it's not going to HAPPEN, but I'm still going to wish for it anyway.
So, yes. Owen. Is back. And I still love him just as much as ever. Even if Joe Manganiello is approximately three feet taller than Lisa Goldstein, which I had never noticed before, I don't care. I'm already totally sold on them. That's bad, right? I mean, it's not going to end well. I get that. But, GAH. She is so happy and giggly and comfortable around him, and he's being all noble and urging her to get back with Mouth (uhm, no....but the noble thing is sweet!) and.....did I mention that he's still hot? It's important, is all.
Since Lauren and Owen were pushing so hard for Mouth and Millie to get back together, I did have the thought of "Oh crap....did they bring Owen back simply so he can push those two kids back together? Because I vote NO", but Mouth wasn't having it. And for once, I really agree with a Mouth decision. (I know, right?) Not so much the asking Lauren out, because I'm still, as you can see above, trying to fight my feelings on that one.....but realizing that maybe it really is over with Millicent. He can still love her, and I'm sure he still does....but there is just way too much damage to overcome.
.....I really missed you, Owen. Please stay awhile?
Next week: Okay, I will freely admit that I teared up watching THE FREAKING PREVIEW. This does not bode well for next week. I am doomed to be a snotty mess. Oh, Taylor, honey, come have a hug.
~&~&~
This show is very cliched and you can totally see plot twists coming from a mile and a half away. But you know what? I still cheered when Baze's dad came back to the bar. Oh, show. I really am invested in you, aren't I? Whatever is going to happen to you when Gossip Girl (ick) comes back? (Please don't end up on Tuesday or Thursday nights....my schedule is kind of packed on those days).
I don't have a whole lot to say about this episode, I think because I'm still in shock that I actually liked Tasha. That's right, I freaking liked Tasha. Also, I wanted to root for Lux, but Bug and Tasha had every right to be angry with her, and personally, I think Tasha let her off the hook a little quicker than she probably should have. What she did was shitty. There's really no other justification there.
I'm wondering what Lux is going to face when she gets back to school. (Hopefully, it's Bitch Girl getting hit by a bus. Oh, dial down the villainy, show! Please?) After all, even when the party was busted up, Jones still seemed cool with her....but then Bug and Lux stole his car (somewhat unintentionally on her part, mind you, but still). So, yeah, I can't imagine her popularity is going to increase at all.
I liked Baze being forced to play "bad cop", Cate fretting about whether Lux likes Baze better than her, and turtle races in general. A turtle race! In a bar! With a three-legged turtle named Bolt! That's so....weird. And yet, we all know how I feel about weird.
Random side note: I was a little disappointed that Jones showed up, simply because I was hoping he would be this show's version of Tino on My So-Called Life. Tell me somebody out there remembers Tino. He was Jordan Catalano's best friend, who was always supposed to be doing something - getting them into a party, getting them alcohol - but he rarely, if ever, appeared onscreen.
And I just realized I started this whole thing with Patty Chase and ended with Tino. That's what you call bringing it all together, folks.
More on that in a bit, though.
First up - Brooke/Julian/Alex. No no no NO. I mean, okay, we all know how this is going to turn out, right? Julian clearly did not sleep with Alex, he let her sleep in his room because of the issues she was having with her next-door suite. But, still. It looked bad, and I wanted to reach out and hug poor gorgeous Brooke. Of course, then I wanted to smack the show around for throwing this obvious setup at us.
On a slightly related note - Alex Squared is still made of win.
Victoria finally taking a lover - oh, YAY! My gut feeling is that it is not actually Gentle Paul, so I'm curious to see how that turns out. I was, however, very sad that she got stood up. Aww! I still kind of can't believe that I'm rooting for Bitchtoria to win all.
Clay and the Tennis Twin - whatevs. Yes, Quinn and Clay have been happy for too long by this show's standards, but.....I don't know. I'm withholding judgment until I see more.
The cancer storyline....I admit, I could see both sides of it. If I were in Haley's shoes, I would be fighting against this with everything I had. So I totally don't blame her. At the same time, I also see where Patty Chase has had to deal with this and accept it, and being forced to keep trying for a cure tears down all that progress. So, I get it. I also really love Nathan being so damned supportive and awesome. Not that I didn't think he would be, but it was still great to see him try to help Haley face this.
I have to say, I was on Haley's side regarding Patty Chase telling Jamie that she was dying. I used to have this rant whenever Lucas decided he should tell Jamie something (i.e., Grandpa Dan kills people!) without even consulting with the kids' parents first. However, I think her mother made that choice in the moment, and if she'd thought it through, she probably would have realized it was best to include Haley and Nathan.
I also liked Clay pointing out to Quinn that at least she has time to say goodbye. If anyone knows that, it's Clay. Of course, it was pretty obvious that was thrown in there, in part, to send us headlong into this Tennis Twin story, but whatever. I'll take it.
Grubbs and Miranda - still love them SO much. He made her talk like a pirate! They are so adorable and delightful. What is it with this show? If there is a character that I hate, it's usually a guarantee that, within a season, they will make me squeal in glee. See: Quinton, Sam, Victoria, Alex, etc. etc.
Randon Leery Actor (Josh?) and his slo-mo entrance, complete with Victoria practically cooing "Hello sailor"? YES. More of that, please. Also, it has to be a boost to Daphne Zuniga's ego that pretty much every young male character on this show is written to think she's hot.
Except Julian, of course.
Brooke: Apparently, he was "gentle".
Julian: What?!
Mouth and Lauren - well, damn it. I kind of like them. I know, right? It's so wrong on every level. I mean, I don't WANT Mouth and Millicent to get back together, because I think it would be detrimental to both characters......but it's still really awkward for Mouth to get a new girlfriend while Millie is living with him and dealing with her sobriety. At the same time - he can't put his entire life on hold because of that. Hell, this is a problem she's going to deal with forever. So what, he's not supposed to date ever again? It's complicated....
....but of course, the biggest problem is the elephant in the room Los Angeles: Skills. No matter how I try to spin it, it's really kind of a dick move for Mouth to go after Skills' girl. Yes, I get the strong feeling that Lauren and Skills technically broke up when he left, but dude.....that's breaking code right there. It's not like Skills and Lauren broke up because they didn't like each other anymore, it was just a distance thing. So that's really kind of awkward and there's no excuse for it.
Except, damn it, Mouth is so much more TOLERABLE with Lauren. And I really, really need Mouth to start being tolerable again. Granted, it may not last - I'm sure I gushed over Mouth and Millie at some point in the past - but for now.....ugh. They're sort of cute, and I sort of hate myself for thinking they're cute. Sorry, Skills.
But now to the most important part of the episode. Get ready for the caps, you guys.
IT'S OWEN! OWEN IS BACK! OOOOOWWWWEEEENNNN!
(I may have totally shrieked when I saw him, but I'm not admitting to anything).
I didn't pay any attention to the credits, so it was a total (and lovely!) surprise. Yes, I'd mentioned before the rumor that he was coming back....but to be honest, I couldn't remember where I had heard that, and I was starting to think it was just me being crazy. But no! Not crazy! (Okay, a little crazy).
When the camera panned across the crowd at the meeting, I knew there was going to be somebody there Millie knew. And of course, I had the thought of "It would be awesome if it was Owen!", but like I said, I'd kind of given up hope. That thought was kind of on par with "It would be awesome if it was Chris Keller!" No, it's not going to HAPPEN, but I'm still going to wish for it anyway.
So, yes. Owen. Is back. And I still love him just as much as ever. Even if Joe Manganiello is approximately three feet taller than Lisa Goldstein, which I had never noticed before, I don't care. I'm already totally sold on them. That's bad, right? I mean, it's not going to end well. I get that. But, GAH. She is so happy and giggly and comfortable around him, and he's being all noble and urging her to get back with Mouth (uhm, no....but the noble thing is sweet!) and.....did I mention that he's still hot? It's important, is all.
Since Lauren and Owen were pushing so hard for Mouth and Millie to get back together, I did have the thought of "Oh crap....did they bring Owen back simply so he can push those two kids back together? Because I vote NO", but Mouth wasn't having it. And for once, I really agree with a Mouth decision. (I know, right?) Not so much the asking Lauren out, because I'm still, as you can see above, trying to fight my feelings on that one.....but realizing that maybe it really is over with Millicent. He can still love her, and I'm sure he still does....but there is just way too much damage to overcome.
.....I really missed you, Owen. Please stay awhile?
Next week: Okay, I will freely admit that I teared up watching THE FREAKING PREVIEW. This does not bode well for next week. I am doomed to be a snotty mess. Oh, Taylor, honey, come have a hug.
~&~&~
This show is very cliched and you can totally see plot twists coming from a mile and a half away. But you know what? I still cheered when Baze's dad came back to the bar. Oh, show. I really am invested in you, aren't I? Whatever is going to happen to you when Gossip Girl (ick) comes back? (Please don't end up on Tuesday or Thursday nights....my schedule is kind of packed on those days).
I don't have a whole lot to say about this episode, I think because I'm still in shock that I actually liked Tasha. That's right, I freaking liked Tasha. Also, I wanted to root for Lux, but Bug and Tasha had every right to be angry with her, and personally, I think Tasha let her off the hook a little quicker than she probably should have. What she did was shitty. There's really no other justification there.
I'm wondering what Lux is going to face when she gets back to school. (Hopefully, it's Bitch Girl getting hit by a bus. Oh, dial down the villainy, show! Please?) After all, even when the party was busted up, Jones still seemed cool with her....but then Bug and Lux stole his car (somewhat unintentionally on her part, mind you, but still). So, yeah, I can't imagine her popularity is going to increase at all.
I liked Baze being forced to play "bad cop", Cate fretting about whether Lux likes Baze better than her, and turtle races in general. A turtle race! In a bar! With a three-legged turtle named Bolt! That's so....weird. And yet, we all know how I feel about weird.
Random side note: I was a little disappointed that Jones showed up, simply because I was hoping he would be this show's version of Tino on My So-Called Life. Tell me somebody out there remembers Tino. He was Jordan Catalano's best friend, who was always supposed to be doing something - getting them into a party, getting them alcohol - but he rarely, if ever, appeared onscreen.
And I just realized I started this whole thing with Patty Chase and ended with Tino. That's what you call bringing it all together, folks.