With Bonnie, her actions reminded me of someone who has worked through a lot of issues, is triggered in that moment, and acts out what they’ve always wanted to do in their past but couldn’t. I thought it was an unexpected and long buried rage that bubbled up in Bonnie. I don’t think she meant to kill him. I think she…

It wasn’t. I’m not in the industry and I knew. I can’t imagine working with her daily and not being able to pick up on it so I’m sure Stern saw the fuckery from miles away.

I definitely feel you on this. It’s never about the cereal or the dress or the hair or whatever. It’s about how much control they can have over everything. Reacting in an over the top manner to any and everything is a way to keep control over a person or situation. I found myself saying, “uh, Celeste...DON’T say that”…

I don’t think that he was sorry in a truly remorseful sense, but being that he was the one who was honest in the first therapy session, I did get a sense that he was frustrated with himself and didn’t like being abusive either. Knowing what I know about abuse and abusive people, I know they like to guard their…

I agree. I didn’t finish the book because it was too extra for me. I LOVED the adaptation though.

I think it’s less to do with race and more to do with self perception. No person with a healthy sense of self worth stays in a situation like that. And abusers know that, which is why they do everything they can to chip aware at a victim’s self worth and value.

Shailene Woodley is one of those actresses that I normally do not like. Kidman is another. I think they both did well here. But, I definitely hear you on that one.

Yeah, in the book she has an entire transformation and subsequent career as a result of her “ah-ha” moment.

I also feel like I want to live in a world where this story is done with non-white folks and it gets THE SAME amount of acclaim as this series did. I feel like we’re still a long way from that. I think the Joy Luck Club movie and older shows like Living Single (which Friends was as direct rip off of, by the way) were…

LOL. This is how I felt at first. It took a few of my friends to tell me how good it was for me to watch it. Also, this was the reason I never finished the book.

In the book, yes. She does.

And sure, that’s most people’s existence. But that doesn’t discount that anyone leaving an abusive relationship has some hurdles to overcome. Whether it’s finding a safe space, leaving with kids in tow, finding a support network, etc. To me, Celeste’s hurdles are the insignificant part of this story. To me, her…

LOL @ “cereal giving”. He was a complete and total mess. And that captures how absurd his rants really were.

I read parts of the book so I knew Madeline had some other issues, but I think this one could have been fleshed out more in the series. I think the affair was made up for the series to make her more relatable and not so goody-goody. However, there was this sort of undercurrent of anger she had about “having it all”…

I completely disagree with this. There are a lot of middle class and poor folks who don’t keep their head down and grind. Despite their financial situation, they tear other women down and do petty stuff as well. I think the reason some folks found themselves unable to relate to this setting is because, as a society we…

I wasn’t sure if I’d like it either. I am very critical of entertainment because I understand how it can influence social norms, thought processes, etc. And on a personal level, I am irritated at “white feminism” as a whole (which is an entirely different conversation for a different day) so this shit was not high on…

I think that is kinda what’s been lost on some who think this show was just about rich women with rich people issues. Abuse is abuse and abusers follow a classic pattern most times. Her leaving might have been easier financially, but that money sure as hell didn’t make it any less dangerous.

I get that most racial groups aren’t cohesive, especially groups like Latinos and Asians. Hell, even Blacks aren’t but we do have this unifying history in the US that we can draw from. Many others don’t have that history (which is a good thing) so I can imagine that it’s not easy to just pull together to champion…

It’s going to take Asian Americans (and Asians in other places as well) to really 1) see themselves as a much more cohesive group in the US and 2)start organizing in a loud way for this shit to stop happening. Also, it’s going to take shaking the perception as the “model minority” for a great many in this country to…

I’m from a dried up union/steel/manufacturing town and let me tell you, when plants/companies start to close, slash wages or go overseas, it’s time to get the hell out of there. Seriously. I saw the handwriting on the wall in HS (back in the late 90s) and left at 18. Never lived there again. The place steadily went…