Damn it, I guess that means I can't quit DA yet. So close, too!

Yeah, I hope that was an intentional casting choice. I mean, I would buy Alicia obsessing over a stranger's perception of her regardless of the person's appearance, but it does seem like it might be more significant given the resemblance.

Um, have you seen Brideshead Revisited?

Really? Because it seemed like showing all of those segments of Talking at Noon in "Oppo Research" was sort of a mission statement for the season, like the writers' way of saying, "hey, you like your dramas dark and gritty and full of antiheroes? Well, guess what we're doing this season!"

The thing with Parks and Rec is that (first season aside) it's never really bad, but the past two seasons definitely haven't felt as tight as 2-4 and it should probably just end while it's still sort of good. But yeah, IASIP has almost definitely benefited from not having to turn out as much content per year.

The One I Love: I'm not sure how worthwhile this is once you get over the whole "whoa this was not what I was expecting" aspect of it. But there's definitely that if you don't know anything about it going in, and maybe on rewatch, you'd be like "ahh this is all a metaphor for relationships and our perceptions of our…

Yeah, in general, I feel like sitcoms should probably end after 3 seasons or at most 5, but IASIP is the one exception I can think of that has made it past five seasons without a noticeable decline in quality. Obviously, every season has some weaker episodes, but I don't think there are any weak seasons. The Gang Gets…

Man, Oleg was great. I want more of his thoughts on New Wave music (we know he likes Blondie, but how does he feel about Duran Duran? Or, probably more relevantly, Kino?). But I imagine his plotlines will be too serious for that now.

Carmilla(the Canadian web series): I'm not super into the whole retelling classic literature in college as a video blog genre (could not get into Lizzie Bennet Diaries), but Carmilla is an excellent novella and it's nice to see it getting some attention! They are doing a good job in making the book's lesbian subtext…

Actually now I feel sort of bad and like I probably need to write one of those "In Defense of" essays about Grace so as not to be one of those assholes attacking teenage girls on the internet. Like, as a person, she's essentially pretty decent and will probably work through her more annoying traits when she gets to…

Yeah, that's fair, and I definitely wouldn't expect a 15(?) year old in real life to know how insensitive a comment that would be nor would it be realistic Alicia to chew her daughter out for that. But hating teenaged daughter characters is apparently a very important part of watching critically acclaimed dramas. (I…

My initial comment was too simplistic, but I don't think this is quite the right interpretation either. The Christians interpreted Alicia's statement exactly the way she wants them to—the whole point of her statement, I think, is to be ambiguous enough that she's not outright saying that she's converted but she's okay…

Yeah, that's fair. And in general the courtship process is way more interesting to watch than the actual romantic pairing, but I just want Alicia to make out with someone who isn't Peter, you know?

I never even noticed the chains until Go Fug Yourself started doing TGW power suit rankings (which are mediocre TV recaps, but excellent fashion recaps, as one might expect). Can I find something vaguely similar for under $20, though?

Real talk, though: how many episodes until Alicia and Finn bang? Or will it even happen this season?

In theory, I like the scene with Grace's bible group because it sort of illustrates Alicia's hypocrisy wrt her children. Because as much as she was against Zach and Grace getting involved in Peter's campaigns, she is pretty okay making Zach and Grace lie for her sake. So that scene was useful in being like, hey now…

And also: https://33.media.tumblr.com…

https://38.media.tumblr.com…

re: Alicia's bafflement—-it's less about Christianity in general than that the daughter that she raised actually holds these beliefs given that Alicia didn't instill them in her. It's probably the same way my (Jewish atheist) parents would have reacted if I had become seriously religious as a teenager. Like it's one…

Wow, usually onboard with Sonia's reviews, but totally disagree wrt Alicia's morality and religious views. There might be something to say in Alicia's sense of morality being more reactive than proactive—she has a lot of righteous outrage when people defy her principles (the whole Mike Kresteva thing in s4 is a good…