Where's an echo chamber when you need one? Reflection, girl. It's coming right back at you!

That's interesting. Is Patrick's Dad Dana's "Kevin"? Seemingly perfect, but perhaps not the thing he'll really want after 40 years of perfection?

I will say that as much as I thought Megan was cartoonishly villainous this episode, it was nice to hear about the actual repercussions of the break up for Jon (since Kevin doesn't seem to be having any obvious problems so far). Break ups aren't fairy tale. Jon got hurt. It's good to have that fact brought up, even if…

But let's not forget that a lot of gay men don't get a "pass" on having children for their parents. They have to pay for it by "disappointing" parents by not giving them grandchildren (the reality of the many ways same-sex couples can have children aside). It's not a "Oh, you're gay, so don't worry about needing to…

I can accept that interpretation. He's playing grown-up, sort of.

I don't personally find Megan to be the allegory of anti-Kevin/Patrick people. Her concerns are "moral" concerns—the ethics of being in a relationship that precipitates the end of another relationship. From what I can say, and what I see of other people, no one is really angry that Patrick and Kevin are together as a…

The only thing that was missing on Agustín's end with his interaction with Frank was a truly heartfelt apology the likes of which he did with Richie. The role of Frank may be taken over by an evil bitchy queen this season, but Agustín did something nearly unforgivable to Frank, so while it's nice that Agustiín is…

Yeah, but it would kill me if they end up having Richie throw himself at Patrick. Richie deserves better than that.

If I had any complaint about the Rebirth of Agustín, it would be that it's all rebirthing a little TOO clean. Yeah, he goes through some dark drug use, but there's really no trace of the snobbish asshole he used to be. I mean, I love it that he's so awesome (and prickly when he needs to defend his friends), but you…

Amen.

I have to say, I was a bit chilled and ready for the dramabomb when Agustín referred to Eddie as his friend, but I was right hooked when Agustín soberly points out later that Eddie's been running him ragged about the no commitment game. It's nice to be surprised.

This episode touching on privilege and gay stereotypes is even more interesting in the context of Tovey's recent controversial commentary about "tapdancing freaks", "effeminate gays", and being "masc". It kind of gives a real world lens to how Patrick and Kevin could very well never consider that the game, as it…

No. He absolutely is not.

I think that understanding it from the context of that British card game, it sounds great as an adaptation to the gay community, but it would need more of the absurd—celebrities, icons, creatures—rather than just queer community stereotypes. With only stereotypes, it becomes a true "divide and pit against" game for…

I didn't think it was cruel. Apparently Patrick and Kevin are quite satisfied with themselves if the numerous rooftop scenes were any indication. It was good to hand them some perspective. And it helps that Brady isn't coming at it in a cutting way. He's saying it in a direct and call-a-spade-a-spade way (and later in…

Brady is a total catch compared to Patrick. He's got a good job that he's proud of, he's educated (socially and formally), he's outspoken, and he's much more in touch with himself and much less self-conscious about his interests. Patrick's only got the job and the formal education. The rest is a bundle of neuroses.

I like that idea that Doris may recognize what a shit Patrick is and use him for her benefit. But it still makes Patrick a shit for being that kind of person in the first place. "Hey, you're a shitty person who will only think about yourself. I need you to distract me."

Exactly. I think the use of Patrick as a plot device was lazy and transparent. It would have been much better for them to use any number of other creative options to get Dom and Doris talking than to do it by having Patrick tag along. And it probably would have saved Patrick from being written as an awful and…

I dunno. Patrick rubbed me entirely the wrong way this episode. We're just finishing an episode that exposes all the ugly sides of Patrick's personality, and perhaps an episode where all Patrick does is talk about himself and his personal problems in the face of a friend's tragedy isn't a way to remind me of why I…

I think it's obvious that Patrick's awkward and baseless inclusion in the episode is only to act as a plot device to get Dom and Doris to give exposition about their lives that they otherwise probably wouldn't need to vocalize. But part of me feels that it's also just a lazy way of getting exposition (which we got in…