I agree that Marcus excels at walking the line between douchey and pathetic. The camera bit at the end was made endearing because he took the blame for each failed shot instead of irrationally blaming it on the camera.

Kholodets! I only know about that from Hannibal. It was the one dish the actors couldn't eat because Janice Poon had to use pickled anchovies, and it supposedly smelled and tasted like cat food. But it looked beautiful.

Oliver North did not write an episode; he was a consultant. Tracey Scott Wilson wrote "Martial Eagle." Joel Fields and Joe Weisberg consulted with Oliver North for the Nicaraguan/Contra storyline in S2, and he provided them with so much detail, particularly related to the Martial Eagle op, that he was awarded a story…

"Well, they are Chinese."
"What in Christ Foo Yung could they possibly be celebrating?"
"Who knows? They got their own calendar."

I did. I immediately thought of Sherlock snidely saying, "It's never twins," then even more quickly thinking that Rob Thomas could pull it off. Nevertheless, I'm immensely relieved that it was, in fact, Blaine's father.

I would think that the prop master would know. I have no idea who that is in the poster. He looks vaguely like Rob Lowe with the chin dimple and chiseled features, but the short hair doesn't scream 1980s heartthrob to me.

Yes, and Elizabeth asking Gabriel to get Mischa out of the war may have inspired Philip to arrange to have her and Paige see Elizabeth's mother. I'm not 100% sure on the timeline, but I think he was so touched by Elizabeth asking the Centre for a favor for him that he thought at least one of them should be able to see…

Pobody's Nerfect. It's a play on "nobody's perfect," possibly but not necessarily from The Good Place.

Excellent username-comment synergy.

I seriously doubt they had us follow Mischa's ordeal to meet Philip to have it end without that happening. And Gabriel does what he wants (he took it upon himself to encourage exfiltration last season without asking the Centre first). If Gabriel thinks that this should be Philip's choice, I think he has something up…

Poor Tuan breaks my heart every week. He wants a family so badly, right down to a family dog. He's so lonely that he almost begs Philip to come "home" for the weekend. Mischa desperately wants to connect with the only family he has. Oleg misses his dead brother and feels obligated to fill his shoes. Philip is suddenly…

During that final scene, I was trying so hard to not think about Matthew Rhys saying on the Slate podcast how excited he was to eat McDonalds, but (executive producer) Chris Long said that Philip wouldn't eat because he would be too upset. Rhys in a dramatic singsong voice: "No, I think he would! Just to keep up the…

What on earth was up with The Bachelor: Moscow Edition? Why have all three of them over together? Is this a cultural thing I'm not aware of — as in, competition is healthy even in social situations? I mean, it was quite amusing but also horrifying.

Good grief, this show does things to me. I knew that it would end in heartbreak when it began so light-heartedly. Elizabeth and Philip being gobsmacked at the parent-teacher meeting — hilarious. Gabriel telling Mischa to forget about his father — crushing. Philip telling Elizabeth, "No, no, Elizabeth, it's us. It's…

Man, when Henry told Paige to get the toast out of the garbage if she wanted to eat it, all I could think of was poor Tuan, who ate food out of garbage when he could find it. I love Henry, but Fake Son beats Real Son #1 this week. Or would Mischa be Real Son #1 because he's older? I can't keep all of Philip's sons…

Ewwww. Thanks for that mental image.

I really do not understand Paige's obsession with the video. What does retrieving the video accomplish? It's not as if it's physical evidence of Philip and Elizabeth committing a crime. It's a taped testimonial. Alice could simply make another. But the real danger is that Alice and/or Tim could be motivated to go…

Those were definitely condoms. Married couples do family planning also. "Form-fitting condoms." Something something "to feel more." The expression on Paige's face is priceless.

Dayum. I've been racking my brain trying to guess how Stan would try to rescue Oleg. He played by the rules before by exposing Zinaida and asking for a trade for Nina, and that didn't work out. So now he beats them at their own game by blackmailing them. Totally did not see that coming. Go, Stan's conscience. Bonus…

“I’m the most powerful telepath in the Alcorian system. I know more than you can imagine.”
“Oh yeah, except for the difference between a gun and a stapler.”