Interesting. I think that's part of my negative reaction to her as well, like, "You don't even know I exist, so why do I feel like you already dislike and are bored by me?"

Am I the only person who doesn't really get Tig? The standup set that everyone raves about like it's miraculous leaves me pretty cold as far as "transcendence". And in her appearances since then she strikes me as just a very smart, reasonable person who endured terrible ordeals but doesn't have anything singularly…

I may have to watch again to check, but Vanessa's change of heart with Dracula at the end seemed absurdly abrupt. I can see why it has Scott thinking possible duplicity, but along with him I also think it's unlikely. But as a genuine about-face it makes her come across not so much as conflicted or entrapped (which…

I'm guessing this won't make much difference to you, but it's worth pointing out that in the joke I heard, there was no reference to women's faces. In fact, Furlong's "target" was "cornholes" which is at worst gender-neutral.

Agreed. I was half-convinced that we'd been misinformed and that there must be at least one more episode to close out the season on a more compelling note. This wasn't actually that fun or interesting to watch, which is something I can't remember thinking about The Americans before. There was kind of a depressive pall…

OK, well played with "literally spilling his guts." Respect.

Absolutely! I really liked it a lot.

Well again, I know nothing about the comics. As a newcomer to this universe, I see no problem with the storytelling thus far. Can we not just wait and see how these disparate elements are integrated into the whole season before we criticize their approach as misguided? It's episode 2, guys.

Zack, I think you're reaching a bit with this argument about the cold open. Today's audiences are used to serialized, long-arc TV. Hell, there are practically entire genres of TV that are defined by testing the audience's patience with slowly teased-out trickles of hints and information.

So bored by the Ethan storyline this whole season. But then I never could tolerate westerns.

Don't know the books, but one of the very early episodes had a rather elegant evasion of the issue in a talk between Bill and Sookie. Bill basically said a lot about human biology seems like magic if you don't understand it in intricate detail, and vampires just run on different magic.

I think it's a safe bet Dracula's got all the blood he needs to function, even if it doesn't flow as fast or in exactly the same way as a living human's.

That line was a bit hard to understand since as far as I know, the word "mean" has shifted considerably in meaning since this period.

I'm glad there's an explanation, and I'm glad we've finally entered an era in which an explanation is expected.

https://youtu.be/2jqKiVHS6x4

OK gang, where is the hatred for Lauren? She is the worst. She's not horrible enough in any way to be funny or good satire. She doesn't make anyone else funnier, like a good straight-man should. She's just a comedy black hole. I didn't understand why she ever became a recurring character, and I certainly don't…

Handsome jerk.

I'm having trouble even being interested enough in this episode to figure out whether I'm offended by it or not. Probably I am. I'm definitely not laughing. At all.

I find this simultaneously depressing and helpful. Seeing the obvious banality of all these intensely-felt personal experiences trivializes my own angsts. But it's good to realize some things are trivial in the bigger picture, even if it doesn't immediately dampen the emotion you have about them.

"Isn't she trying her hardest??"