The ease with which the Betrayal of Eli happened was super disconcerting. Way hard to escape a foreboding sense of the shark being jumped in that scene. On the plus side, I'm hoping we see more of the new associate who made a pass at Cary. Totes Adorbs.

Exactly. You're turned on by what you're turned on by. Period. Regarding Aiden and Michaela, I never got the feeling homophobia was the issue — as I recall, it was that he had outright lied about it to her.

Big drop-off in my enjoyment compared with last week's episode. This time it all just felt kinda too precious, like believing itself to be way funnier than it actually was. Not ready to give up on it yet, but definitely putting it on probation, so to speak.

Am I the only one confused by the two girls switching out the head scarf at the end? Are they supposed to be identity-swapping secret twins or summat? I half expected Julie Chen to stroll onto the set and explain that if they can go ten weeks without getting evicted, they'll both be allowed to play the game.

Huh? I'm gonna need an annotated flow chart to follow that one, I fear.

I spent her first five minutes fighting the notion she was a badly-botoxed Julia Roberts.

I could have sworn there was some throw-away line between Chet and Brad about how they had to "make people believe it's live." implying they were faking it, but decided that didn't gel with them being so panicked about all the spontaneous disasters if it WASN'T actually live TV. I then decided to cut them enough…

Here a bastard, there a bastard, everywhere a bastard.

I agree with the review and could even argue that he actually cuts the lazy writing too much slack. What started off so well and with so many layers in the first few episodes, devolved decidedly into a ridiculously disappointing season finale. I'm glad the performances of such a talented cast did not go…

Indeed. And how refreshing is it to have both a writer and an actor who allow for more than one motivational possibility? Perhaps more than anything else in this show (and I'm a huge fan), I'm consistently impressed with its regular refusal to "dumb down" anything for its audience.

I don't understand the "B-" grade. This episode was the best yet, IMHO.

Like heated leather seats or, back in the day, power steering.

Yes, I also missed it entirely. My DVR messed up recording the original broadcast, though, so the one I caught was one of many "encore" re-broadcasts. I'm guessing these are perhaps trimmed to allow for more commercials maybe? Theories, anyone?

I just had to add, although it happened in the episode after this one, I've nowhere else to bitch about it: WTF w/Duchovny's fridge in his scene at home with the booze before his partner shows up? Looked like a VERY modern —- stainless steel finish, no less — side by side. Also, I was admittedly a child at the…

That's so pathetic I can't even think of a response. So fucking wrong.

Bette Midler, of course.

Anyone else have a problem when she tells Ethan to keep his tracking chip on him so they don't know he took it out? As if they wouldn't have already realized this when he was found NOT in her bathroom, where he'd previously left the chip?

Indeed. All of humanity was permanently scarred by the debacle known as HARPER'S ISLAND.

Second sentence (if you can call it that) in the review:

What Jack said.