Out of curiosity, do we/Alex have an agreed upon terminology for referring to White rose's gender? I'm not trying be argumentative or accusatory in any way, but I remembered hearing that Email confirmed that the female identity was their genuine self, while presenting as a cisgender man was the disguise. This is…

I definitely agree. It's tough to imagine myself buying sudden, actual reality hopping instead of metafiction, symbols, and nods to real life.

I bought the season on Google Play in advance. I had a really negative experience with USA's service last year, and I'll end up buying it, anyway.

I know it's just the 70's film look, but that type of picture quality showing genteel people slaughtered at an outdoor party/meal called to mind Zardoz.

I was immediately reminded of House of Leaves by the door frame shot.

Nothing is censored in the digital/streaming versions, so it's unlikely. It would be fascinating if there were messages/clues hidden in the different broadcast versions, but I doubt it.

We are (supposed to be?) somewhat in the dark about the wider implications of 5/9 when it comes to your average Joe, which makes me wonder: were the protestors outside of the restaurant just protesting high-class/wealthy places in general (as I originally assumed), or are they specifically protesting Price as the most…

I was definitely thinking that Price was offering her some sort of advancement for doing some sex stuff with those two guys. Maybe I was just thinking of Requiem for a Dream too much. Glad it wasn't that, but it's not like the reality is a great thing, either.

I hope someone will reveal exactly what circumstances led to Trump hosting some day.

I can't conceive of any way to punch down at Trump. Being an embarrassing piece of shit doesn't take away his power and privilege.

Definitely. I haven't pinpointed it, but I'm sure Dee has also crossed a line. It's interesting to think back to earlier seasons when she viewed herself as separate from the rest of the gang in terms of morality. As she's become more and less and more[…] integrated with the guys she's worked less to hide the shitty…

Dating a trans woman wouldn't necessarily make him gay, depending on how you frame what he finds attractive about her, but I got the impression that he was into it for her pre-surgery anatomy (taking into account later seasons since that wasn't the intention at the beginning). It's a clue in that he probably used her…

This episode made me feel an unexpected sense of unease. I don't mean this negatively, but I was on edge far more than I was laughing. The reason I'm not complaining is that the show seemed very aware of it (from my interpretation, at least—I just watched it so these are initial thoughts).

I wouldn't expect it to be on the level of, say Bossypants, but it has a similar appeal for me. He's working with the guys who co-wrote his White House Correspondents Dinner speech, which veered from snarky to critical quickly. Most things I've read consider it a failure, and it was excruciating to watch him try and…

That's a good point, I hadn't thought about Mac Day. I still think this is a milestone, though, as he was definitely fraternizing without a flimsy pretense (to himself).

Tell me about it. As a side note, it looks like the Pied Piper may actually have been a metaphor for a mass migration of the younger generation from a region in Germany. This is based on clicking through Wikipedia aimlessly, however, since, as you said:

I got the impression he was wasted.

A few years ago, McElhenney mentioned in an interview that he made a lot of gains in terms of strength when he gained the weight. After that, he definitely looked bigger.

There actually was a "scholarly" hypothesis that the Pied Piper was pederast and a serial killer, but the guy who claimed it cited nothing and seems to have proposed it out of thin air.

I think the fact that he's been frequenting a gay bar is a significant piece of information to drop. Up until now, we've seen no evidence that he was allowing himself to act on any male attraction, even in private. The closet (and internalized-homophobia) is a complicated thing, but this indicates that he's crossed a…