It wasn't the dead bird itself—it was the story she told when prepping it for burial: how one day her father just…didn't come home. So she went out and made herself a family where that wouldn't happen. (Spoiler: This is what is known as ironic foreshadowing.)

It seems to me that what Jane feels isn't shame or modesty—what she's feeling is possessive—that she wants her sex—the sex she has—to be just that: hers. Not what filming it turns it into, not what talking about it turns it into. Hers.

Nope. Nope, sorry, Nucky's still not expressing honestly felt racism in his scene with Narcisse—it is not "what white Atlantic city thinks of the North Side." It's what Narcisse expects to hear—wants to hear, because it'll make him be right about Nucky as a worthless racist.

Watching it, I kept muttering "Occurrence at Owl Creek Bridge, Occurrence at Owl Creek Bridge, Goddammit this is gonna be an Occurrence at Owl Creek Bridge." It was. Turns out, knowing that in advance didn't make it any less devastating. Fuck this show for doing that to me.

Beck's performance in the Dancing At Home short was about 2 degrees away from being a terrifyingly spot-on impersonation of Robert Downey Jr.

"A gimmick? A gimmick?!" (Starts to laugh nervously, laugh turns unexpectedly into a loud snort. Covers mouth, widens eyes in embarrassment, runs away.)

Yeah, awkward agreement on this. I so don't want it to be true—I think we can all agree that Mr. Wayans has earned himself a lifetime of "Ooo—*he's* in this? This should be good!" enthusiasm from us on the basis of his work on HAPPY ENDINGS. But Coach is not part of the ensemble of this show, and he's too aggressive…

(Adopts a Jessica Day pause-and-squint) "I feel as though you didn't *have* to say that—more like you really *wanted* to say that, but then you didn't want to come across as the kind of person who would want to say that, so you pretended like you *had* to say that—"

That's a fair point—I'd contend that MAD MEN is, in part, about people denying the truths revealed over the course of MASTERS OF SEX*—although the real impact of M&J's work wouldn't percolate into mainstream consciousness until well into the '60s, so in that sense, they're working in tandem.

I'm gonna float the idea—and I have the sneaking conviction that I'm plagiarizing someone in doing so—that this show is the opposite (or even antidote) to MAD MEN. Well, not to MAD MEN itself, as that show is in no need of curative treatment. But to the ethos of MAD MEN.

Yes. This. Nucky's definitely the kind of man who, raised in a hellishly racist environment, and who, because his power depends very much on sustaining that environment to his advantage, is probably pretty fucking racist by today's standards. Not "I hate them" racist, but "Can I continue to make money off of them—then…

I'm using the term "biography" to mean "the narrative of her life," rather than "a book that relates the narrative of her life"—poor word choice on my part. I'm basing a lot of my commentary on Maier's book, but also on the vast number of (reputable) people who worked with her and have posted remembrances online, in…

It's gotten much, much more cringe-worthy since the miscarriage. Before it was…off, but hopeful. As in, "You're going to be one, someday soon!" Now it's moving into Miss Havisham territory. (Although given that Libby is now secretly campaigning to make it real, maybe we can just pretend it's her private joke against…

I disagree that it's racism that prompts Nucky's contempt for Narcisse. While, granted, any time a powerful white guy demands of an ambitious black guy "Who the fuck do you think you are?", there's most likely gotta be a *little* racist stank on it, Nucky's not that guy. Oh, he's racist—name me one white character on…

No long analysis from me this week…

Thank ya much!

I've been impressed by how the show has dealt with the Nick-Jess thing this season, in that neither Nick nor Jess has, as a result of now being a couple, been stricken with the magical amnesia that affects most other TV couples, in which the new couple completely forgets the moral character of the other person.

Taye Diggs is one of the best Too Handsome actors working today, because he is brave enough to play every role in realistic sync with his remarkable appearance.

Oh, Sims. You and your plucky "catty plot summaries are the same as reviews, right?" dedication to half-assery. Never change. Now, shoo, up to bed with you—the grown-ups are talking.

Dennis is such a narcissist that being the subject of homoerotic obsession merely strikes him as confirmation that all in the world is as it should be.