Um, could you cite the page in the Black secret code book where it says that? Or are all the secret codes done in elaborate hand gestures?

A calculated, pragmatic, closeted Republican man who lived through the early days of the AIDs epidemic not having sex with another man until he met his husband is definitely possible.

I think the point with Melissa's dish wasn't just that it was only vegetables, but that considering they had two hours to prepare a dish it was a fairly straightforward, boring vegetable dish.

As the Thanksgiving descendants were each telling their soundbite "what does Thanksgiving mean to you" answers, I was hoping for a subtitled translation of what they would actually say if cameras weren't rolling.

My reason: because it assumes that everyone in Africa should want to celebrate a Christian holiday.

"His pain is your pain
His troubles are your troubles
They call him
The Gorilla Boy
and he'll steal your heart"

The Mail Chimp conspiracy theory is compelling.

I hope they don't keep trying to force more history lesson tie-ins. Even the re-enactor with the musket looked bored by the time he fired a shot for the last "battle."

Hugh's blog is pretty much the only reason I go near that website anymore.

But he comes from a Broken Home!!!

Great job elevating the conversation with thoughtful commentary.

I liked that they didn't know about the gluten free diner beforehand, because that's how it can happen in an actual restaurant. Some diners with allergies call ahead to inquire or let the chefs know, but others just show up and expect the kitchen to adapt.

I loved the bit showing Aaron's messy work area. My guess is that it's a point of pride for him because he thinks doing an organized mise en place is for losers who went to culinary school.

Great recap. Really glad AVC is covering this again.

I also love that they chose Bly as the pseudonym: the real life Nellie Bly gained fame by pretending to be insane so that she could write an exclusive report on the horrible conditions in mental asylums.

Of course not! It's for white people who only want to be *occasionally* distracted by storylines featuring black people (and terrible "urban" background music).

From Encyclopedia Britannica: "Quetzalcóatl, (from Nahuatl quetzalli, “tail feather of the quetzal bird [Pharomachrus mocinno],” and coatl, “snake”), the Feathered Serpent, one of the major deities of the ancient Mexican pantheon. Representations of a feathered snake occur as early as the Teotihuacán civilization (3rd…

Didn't A.V. Club attempt to hire a proofreader at some point a few years ago? Anyone know what happened? Not enough in the budget for it?

I was a little annoyed with that scene, too much of the Rainmain/"magical aspie" stereotype at play there.

Aspergers is not treated with medication (unless it's an unscrupulous doctor pushing off-label psychiatric meds). I'm guessing she also has been labeled with another psychiatric condition at some point and was given meds for that (another poster upthread mentioned co-occurring ADHD). Living her formative years with…