I thought Keri Russell was phenomenal this week, but I actually thought it was one of the weaker segments of the season.  Surprised FX sent a screener out for this one, actually.

Shame this episode had to air adjacently to last week's masterpiece.  At almost any other point in the show's run, I feel like people would be saying, "Wow, TWD did a decent job building characters and tension while also furthering the narrative."

I wasn't referring to the opinion of the characters—who, other than Rachel, wouldn't have had the beginnings of an idea.  I was referring to the post by @avclub-e0ffb5f5ebc766c197a156e63a4668b8:disqus which seemed to suggest there was some ambiguity about whether Brody is indeed a prostitute.

So it sounds like you liked half the sketches in the second half?  Given that, it doesn't seem worthy of the shellacking you're giving it.

Timberlake was awesome, but the episode worked for so much more than his presence (and even the awesome cameos, which while cool, feel a bit overused in this day and age).

And the mixing was absolutely atrocious on top of that.  The singing never sounds "live," but this sounded like Heather recorded her part in a completely different setting from everyone else.

Neither the deal with the old woman at the cemetery nor the origami did anything to make me care about the Claire character.  Not sure why the show seemed so committed to adding those little touches to her storyline.

The difference-maker between Paul and Elijah, for me, is that Paul is actually good-looking whereas Elijah is a very average-looking kid that they were trying to push as some sort of Bieber-esque heartthrob.  It might not have "backfired," but it certainly led people to overestimate how popular he was.

So I didn't start watching until this week.  Music competitions still have a warm place in my heart, but I just don't care to invest myself in the audition/backstory stuff anymore.  Some questions I have:

I've never seen the movie, but from what I can gather, the Diamonds are a Girl's Best Friend/Material Girl mash-up is actually "Sparkling Diamonds" from Moulin Rouge.

Confused - wasn't it already confirmed Brody was a gigolo at the end of the last episode?

Completely agree with the point about Footloose killing the episode.  Not only does the song suck, but it totally killed the poignancy of the episode.

Was responding to this comment by @avclub-fa5b8744a34319c7c9f360b7cc4eb503:disqus  "Also uncomfortable was how much sense the psycho killer made."

Sorry, should have better articulated—that's what I meant.  That they didn't twist it up this time.

Ehh, but they tried to justify Shawn's childish jealousy (for the viewers) by making it clear that Juliet really was enjoying the attention and really was attracted, albeit totally superficially, to the guy buying the weird suit and Mr. Possibility.

Really, really liked this episode.  Tons of great banter, Maggie Lawson looking incredible in a dorky sort of way, top-notch performances from all involved, a McNab appearance…just great stuff.

I mean it was mostly a joke, but to actually discuss, I'd say @Racj82 nailed it.  I mean Lauren Cohan is a former lingerie model (and way gorgeous when she's not covered in dirt and sweat on the show…not that she doesn't look good then anyway), so she's very obviously hot and the show definitely pushes Andrea as hot…

So glad to see someone else use the word "sexy" to describe Michonne.  Always felt super weird for checking out her ass when they get a camera shot from behind.

Of course AMC had to ruin a perfect episode by including the Morgan callback in the "previously on…" bit.  Made it so obvious he was popping up tonight.

I'll admit, I initially had the "this is super racist" thought running through my head.