Well, it helps her that it just comes off as a weird and ridiculous thing to say. It's not great that she spits out vicious nonsense under pressure, but it's hard to see Hannah or Adam reading it as anything else.

I hated her for saying that, but it seemed pretty pitiable that her instinct was to defend herself to someone who just barged in on her like that. Come on, Marnie, this situation calls for intense, justified anger at Hannah until she leaves. Stand up for yourself a little! She's really shitty to Ray, but she's not…

Big Love

With a good essay and SATs, an after school job, and don't forget newspaper and FBLA, sure they are.

I bought that Veronica was acing her high school classes without putting much time into them, a la Lindsey Weir. I usually agree with you on this trope, but being astoundingly bright always felt like an integral part of Veronica's character to me.

Oh I see. I thought you were speaking generally.

That makes more sense in a merge of two tribes than a swap of three tribes. On a new tribe with a few people from each old tribe, why prefer someone who already has it out for you over a stranger who needs some new allies?

The problems pulling up the items looked like they were all on J'Tia to me. It didn't look like the other tribes had to be talked through that step. The delay to position the flag was worse, but I understand that Tasha was trying to avoid dropping it again, which seemed quite likely and would have cost more time.

In Palau they let a tribe get down to 1 member before the merge.

Together, we can determine the exact right amount to be pissed at Agustín.

It wasn't so much the fact that Richie was trying to pick someone up as that I remember him being very suave and chatty in that scene in a way that doesn't quite seem like him anymore. I'll be interested to see how I interpret that scene now.

The overwhelmed-by-passion thing, which Kevin himself used again in this episode, is very appealing because it's flattering to Patrick and makes Kevin look like less of a bad guy, but it's not really an excuse. I don't know if it's a conscious "line" or if Kevin himself buys into it, but it's an effective (and pushy,…

OK, those are good points. I had forgotten that Agustín had ever given Patrick advice that led to a good decision. It wasn't so much that I thought Agustín acted all that badly in most of these situations, I was just looking at the pile of bad results of talking to Agustín and wondering what was up with that…

That's exactly how it seemed to me. When I watched the scene again I was trying to get a better read on how Patrick feels about it, but his face is mostly in shadow. Probably why we're all seeing it a number of different ways. I see it this way because it lines up with everything else I think about their relationship.

Ehhhh all right. I suppose it will be frustrating and sad and also incredibly well done.

I don't know. He wanted to, and I'm not trying to absolve him of responsibility, but I don't think he gets there without Agustín meddling and Kevin being pretty manipulative, and I think that matters. He's resisted the temptation in the past and has been trying to avoid putting himself in situations like that again.…

Oh I hope we're not in for a long Kevin affair.

I just don't understand why!

A fellow sufferer! My passport photo ("Don't smile, just relax your face," they said) looks like I'm about to burst into tears.

I know they're joking in that scene, but it's remarkable how often Agustín nudges Patrick in the wrong direction. Perhaps it's a cursed friendship.