Ok, I have to know—what happened? I gave up on that show at the start of the Wizard of Oz season.

I got to see Singin' in the Rain with a live symphony performing the score, so that was awesome. Also, made plans with a guy I met on OKCupid to see a movie on Thursday (our second date), and I am super excited about it.

I finally finished a book! (First book I managed to read all the way through in 2015, yikes). We Are All Completely Beside Ourselves by Karen Joy Fowler. Her writing completely drew in. I don't have the book with me, but two sentences that stuck with me demonstrate her witty style:

I was surprised by the lack of attention/praise for his performance when everyone else in the cast (in the immediate Rayburn family) gets a nod in most reviews of the series. Obviously, Mendelsohn stands out, but I thought Butz did an excellent job of portraying Kevin's vulnerability and insecurity as well as his…

YES. If there has to be a voiceover (which I don't think added any value in this case), I'd rather they just stick to it as a convenient narrative device rather than try to shoehorn it into the story.

I got the sense that there was even more to their childhood than we saw. John finally confirmed at the end of this episode that Danny was a "fuck-up" before Sarah's death, and Danny has implied before that he and his father never got along. In the pilot, John told Kevin that there were things Danny had protected him…

This is where I think the show could have ended and been a fantastic, haunting one-season show. Without the flash-forwards to warn us it was coming, and the inevitable letdown of the Rayburn siblings covering it up (which really turns the show into a completely different series from the tragic family drama it has…

"it becomes more and more obvious that the blank look Rylance adopts for many scenes is a cover for a quick, and above all practical, mind"

I loved this episode, but I think for me it was so effective that what came after was somewhat of a letdown. The idea of Danny killing Sarah was so horrifying that what he actually did—running drugs through the inn, terrorizing John—didn't seem as bad in comparison. Obviously, John wouldn't see it that way because…

Yessss, agreed. I was able to ignore it because they worked for me emotionally—probably because that is a close approximation of how we actually experience memories—but on a show with lesser actors I would have rolled my eyes and turned it off by the third or fourth time it happened (or really, after the pilot).

No joke, I honestly thought they were lovers and that the writers meant it to be fairly obvious. Their dynamic last episode didn't strike me as one lover betraying another, though. They just always seemed to have a lot of affection for one another (in Wynn's own way, of course).

For as much as the flashbacks could have easily become monotonous, they worked really well on this show to reinforce the characters' relationships and motivations. Finally seeing what happened to Sarah was just gut-wrenching.

I liked how that one ended. It's one of those where it seems like it can't wrap up in a satisfying way, but it still managed to have a neat little turn at the end.

Sayat Nova is a great Armenian restaurant just off Michigan Avenue. Last time I was in Chicago, I had drinks at the Berkshire Room, visited Blue Chicago for some live music, and ate at The Chop Shop in Wicker Park (and had donuts at Stan's Donuts down the street, if you get the glazed donuts fresh they are…

Did any Justified fans here read this?: http://nerdrepository.com/i…

That would be awesome. Since I hope for a happy ending for Raylan, though, maybe he would find by losing his star that he's still not the outlaw he thought he would be without it. The Wizard of Oz ending—it was inside him all along!

Exactly! I guess she didn't know then that she would need to go on the run, but still—I hope the writers give her better credit than to try to use it now. I just don't see Ava being very successful at being on the run, even with 10 mil, after how terrible she did the last time she tried to run. Even with that much…

I was hoping for Ava to be the one to walk away free and clear when this show is over. I guess it could still happen, but it seems more unlikely now.

I just watched episodes 8 and 9 back-to-back, and I love the fact that in episode 8 they drop a little hint that Duffy might have been the rat when Katherine questions whether the man who probably killed Grady worked for Duffy, but he passed it off as "he only worked WITH me, he worked FOR Markham."

That makes sense. I thought they were suggesting that people who would otherwise vote in the Loop would be at home already and opt for staying in rather than braving the traffic (underlined by the newscaster saying, "You might want to stay at home and avoid driving in the Loop").