That's clever and I like it. However, I feel like if that was there intent, the show would have used some clunky expositional dialogue to tell us so.

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I wonder if there's a middle ground here. I grew up in a pretty tolerant household and without a whole lot of media exposure, and I'm pretty young. So I don't know if it's not really a "homosexual demon" trope, or if I'm just not seeing it. I certainly did not take away the impression that Penguin was homosexual or…

Right? I thought that kiss on the head was one of those vaguely religious ways of showing respect for the dead. It reminded me of the coins from Boondock Saints.

You could just watch it and decide for yourself. I think it's a lot more fun than the AVC critics do, if you don't take it too seriously.

I didn't notice Gregory's eyebrows, but it's probably all I'll see from now on.

Amen.

He was different, but he did have a distinct character. He was a hardass about the budget, he was annoying to an annoyed by Leslie, he had a clearly defined relationship with Chris, where he played the straight man to Chris's overwhelming positivity.

So what would the standard of comparison be?

Now that you mention it, I do sort of remember a point when she got really ditzy and I thought, "wait, when did Alex get dumb?"

So you want them to talk slower?

I don't remember a time when Ben didn't have pretty distinct character traits, though. Jake just seems kind of bland so far.

I like the idea of the changing theme song, too, but I like Home better than the one they had this week (anyone remember what it was?)

A lingering question: Bobbi suggests that although lots of Hydra are ex-SHIELD, they were Hydra operatives who had been working inside SHIELD before it fell. That's what makes Simmons' loyalty suspect. But Bobbi wouldn't have been Hydra before SHIELD fell either, right? So wouldn't that be a suspicious comment to…

When was Alex the grounded and normal one? I remember her going from roller-skate-loving flake to exhaustingly-butt-of-the-joke ditz.

I still feel like there isn't much to Jake, besides his apparent guilt that he didn't propose to Casey Wilson sooner. But that was already established in the pilot, and this show doesn't give him enough screen time to allow for retreads. Or at least, the show seems to be much more about her point of view than his,…

Yeah that dad stuff was so awkward. Especially since he probably wouldn't have said anything if Emma hadn't been all like, "Let's go before my dad does something super embarrassing. Right, dad?"

Still, there's a difference between an open dialogue that starts, "You might be too young to understand this, but sometimes feelings are complicated," vs. "Sorry kid, I'm still not that emotionally open and PS we're trying to cut way down on your screentime."

Thoughts on OUAT, and its perpetual absurdity:

"School is cool. That's why it rhymes."