Cat

Well put. Head was literally perfect as Giles. An actor who entertained and moved me in whatever he was given. He had a special light and he elevated any and every scene in Buffy. I believe that those with comic timing tend to be especially good actors across a range of genres because they are able to poke fun at themselves and their characters, and Anthony Head encapsulated that. I also agree that phasing him out of Buffy was a sign of the show's decline. It became unmoored and rudderless without him.

Woah, did I just kill this thread with my Liz dislike? lol🫠I still think she's necessary for the show. Rewatching the episode, I am still wondering what set Liz off. It's as if she came to the conclusion that Jo-Ellen and Alicia were setting her up in the eyes of the audience. On the other hand, the way Jo-Ellen and Alicia were so shell-shocked at Liz's attack in the car and at Capo, the way they shut down and tried to 'make it nice' -- that felt real. I recognise that reaction in myself and a lot of women when an aggressive or conflictual reaction we cannot quite process has just presented itself. The shocking part is we have now seen how much Liz dislikes Jo-Ellen, which I (or indeed Jo-Ellen herself) did not realise before.

In other news, Rosie's husband's sounds nothing like Frank Sinatra!

I've started feeling less goodwill towards Liz in recent episodes, not just this latest one. There is something Jen Shah-esque about her. Not necessarily the criminal stuff (although we can have a discussion about whatever the pot business is a front for, or why her husband is selling the boat!). I'm thinking more about Jen Shah in S1, when thought she was Queen Bee and could control the narrative -- and who imploded once she realized viewers were warming to Mary Cosby. For me, it was the way Liz backed Kelsey the last few episodes, even when Kelsey was trying to bully and intimidate Rosie who, luckily, is not easily intimidated. It's also the way she's going to and fro with Rulla, pretending to back her girl but at the same time encouraging Jo-Ellen to release the info. I wonder if she's turning on Jo-Ellen because she senses that Jo-Ellen is playing a great game and standing her ground on certain issues (like Rulla's husband). I'm no expert, but Liz this episode seemed like she was on coke. She was really wired, hyper and off. Her voice was more nasally and congested-sounding than usual.

Im here! Phenomenal news. Gina, Janet and Lydiot all better be back!

100% agree. And I love Alicia but Jo-Ellen earned first spot. Rulla was basically a FOH were it not for her philanderer husband. BTW, that was an absolute knockout episode this last week. From Jo-Ellen confronting her mother, to Alicia failing to tell Rulla about the video (the most amazingly awkward dinner party where, at one point, Alicia turned to the cameraman with her eyes screaming 'SOS'), to Rosie decimating Kelsey -- this show is Chef's Kiss. Omg please do post about Ladies of London! It is my favourite show of the year thus far. Not that I'm biased or anything (!), but i really adored the eccentrics in that cast. Lol RHORI is definitely Revenge of the Brunettes, but little by little, Jo-Ellen and Skelator Liz start to stand out, then Alicia, then you realise that Rulla looks like Peggy Sulahian from the OC. Kelsey and Rosie will be the most difficult to tell apart. I still mistake one for the other in their VTs.

How did nobody inform me of this breaking news until now?? Apparently RHOLondon Amanda released a truly terrible promo (in a good way) of her dance track, "Back to Paddington." I am cackling at the audacious overuse of autotune.

Oh, she would definitely cry SA if it got her something in return. Don't forget she landed her hubby Jacques (Catholic Lebanese) after she quickly fell pregnant and got him to marry her. I will say that she seems like a great stepmother to her stepsons. But she’s sooooo manipulative, not just with Mark-Francis, but with Martha. That's why the final party was so satisfying to watch. She sashayed in there in her cheap acrylic crop-top, and nobody wanted anything to do with her. Martha took her to the side to talk, and you could tell Margo was smug because she assumed Martha would be begging for forgiveness. And Martha cut her with "Ever since you've come back from LA, you've been manipulative, bitchy and mean." Masterstroke! Margo couldn't believe Martha had unmasked her. I'm only bummed we don't get a reunion. Would love to see Margo getting dragged by all and sundry. I'm really hoping it gets a second season. It's been my absolute favourite Bravo show. Sadly, the US ratings don't seem to have been good. I do know it is one of the most watched show on Hayu/Hulu in Europe, though.

And I know you've seen the mid-season trailer for RHORI, which has that same fool putting a tracking device on his wife! "What are you gonna do about it, Rulla?" I have caught up with all episodes of RHORI, and I am absolutely hooked. I know Liz is the Queen Bee of the group, and she is pretty great, but for my money, Alicia is hilarious (she needs to dump her guy and start her own pizza empire, Pizza Cicerone). Jo-Ellen is driving this show, and she may be considered the villain, but IMO she is the truth-teller. Brian tried to ruin her career, and she is proving to Rulla that his word cannot be trusted. That mistress sh!t is off the charts. Jo-Ellen's sister coming over to do the husband's laundry and cook when Jo-Ellen is out of town, in a strapless denim mini-dress...I want to believe this isn't what I think it is. Having Ashley as an outsider joining the group was another wicked-smaht move. Where are you on Kelsey vs Rosie? I'm kind of leaning towards Kelsey. I think Rosie is particularly manipulative.

I haven't missed her either and this is why. She's not cute, she's not witty, she's not a wordsmith, but she definitely thinks she is all of the above. I can't believe how mean and resentful she is after all this time -- and how Ashley sti(ll lives rent-free in her head.

Im about to enter the Italian Trip episodes. I will say i enjoyed the Hamptons trip and thd fact that Rachel Zoe kind of brought Dorit and Kyle together, temporarily. Nice to see Rachel with her parents, and to ask Kyle why does she has a property in Nashville, lol. I get the sense Rachel enjoys trolling Kyle a lot of the time, and given her status in pop culture/the Bravoverse, she can get away with that, too. While im not sure I care about Boz's fertility journey (or even quite believe it), I do appreciate that she is a voice of reason and basic critical thinking on the show. Erika has very little SL, and Sutton even less. And while I agree with you that BH is a more peaceful watch this season (in a positive way), I really cannot get past what Erika and Sutton in particular did to turf Garcelle off the show. Amanda is a pretty basic influencer wannabe, whose 'manifesting' idea was stolen from Oprah's talk-show 25 years ago.

If Robyn comes back, Gizelle will retreat into Mean Girl mode, egged on by her bully sidekick. She can isolate herself from the rest of the cast and not do much. Without Robyn there, she had to work much more on narrating SL and bridging Karen's return. I thought she was much more palatable engaging with the cast this season.

I saw that. And there was one spot-on moment where Andy asked: why do you think Margo is so convinced that your friendship with Emma is about clinging to social relevance? Mark-Francis answered: "Because she's never had a real friend, so for her, friendship is all about status -- just like her marriage."

This PPD public service announcement is another excuse piled onto an excuse. Margo was milking the victimhood versus Mark-Francis for all it was worth, and she actually had a lot of the cast on-side. But by stretching out that narrative so long, she managed to lose the very sensible Lottie and Misse, who gently but firmly told her to let it go. Once that happened, she couldn't handle that she'd messed up her plan and lost support. She retreated into 'panic-attack' victimhood, reminiscent of nuRHONY Brynn Whitfield (though obviously not as egregious). The interesting thing about much of this cast is their acknowledgement that they are privileged and lucky, and that instead of wallowing in problems, one must carry on. Even Martha, who has lived some challenges, has a 'look on the bright side' aspect. It is incredible that Margo, for all her time in the UK, with the upper-class friends she cultivated, never picked up on that cultural trait. I also think it's significant that she left Martha wondering for hours and days if she was ok, to better work her victim angle. It was clear 1-2 episodes in why she has Martha as a friend -- so she could look down on 'poor Martha' while vaunting her married wealth. She makes for a satisfying 'villain' to root against, because she has now been exposed. Moreover, M-F is brutally right: her outfit game is a flop. That Alaia looked like Forever 21. This has been a completely compelling show to watch -- one of the best in years. Like classic RH mixed with Jane Austen.

@Maxim --