Faulkner

From Lebanon 🇱🇧

I do like that Ramona admires her for escaping a similarly troubled childhood and becoming a successful businesswoman. I actually like Ramona a lot this season. She’s still super oblivious but also with a deeper sense of self-reflection and taking stock of her life. The women on this show just have much richer and more well-expressed inner lives than on the other series, even with all the broad comedy and drunken antics.

I totally agree. And like someone said, it would have been so much harder for Michelle Stafford to steamroll her in scenes like she did SW.

I don’t miss the Bethenny one-woman show either. I like Leah a lot too, and she brings a lot of the Frankel wit without the I’m so much smarter than you arrogance, self-absorption, and overbearing judgment. I just don’t fully buy her in this group quite yet. New housewives are always tricky unless they’ve had long relationships with the cast that preceded their appearance. Her banter with Sonja is fun. And I must say Drunk Sonja was a blast at that stuffy dinner party, and I don’t tend to love her when she’s three sheets to the wind.

She was just so coiled and dripping with venom and bitterness. I found her such a strong presence. And she was very elegant in her own way. Susan Walters was never fully credible as this lonely, aggrieved woman. She was too by-the-book beautiful and dainty, even though she gave it her all.

To each their own. I thought she was fabulous, and I loved her unbridled fury.

Lots of records being tied or broken on this week’s Hot 100;

Why can’t TEB go back to that hairstyle instead of the dated Jessica Rabbit look she’s currently sporting?

These NJ daily press conferences are so loosely structured, which makes it even more frustrating when they break into regular programming. Gov. Murphy is just now getting into the daily numbers, more than a half-hour in.

Alex Donnelly sort of looks like she could be Michael Mealor’s mother, with their endearing mouths. Shame that Y&R destroyed Diane so shortsightedly. Her absence is deeply felt.

From Mumbai 🇮🇳

Ok, I’m cackling at this reunion.

Another Jill track from back in the day:

Oof. That Guy Fawkes goatee on Josh Morrow. Not a good look.

If they had any sense, they would have seen her sparking on screen during that time and just allowed her to own her villainy. Just make her a cold, cruel, and vindictive (yet pathetic and human) Cersei Lannister type. An heiress thirsty for the throne and willing to do anything to protect her inheritance. But that would force them to rethink their “best-laid plans” for their idea of what Y&R looks like. As the eldest daughter of Victor, they see her as a leading lady full stop, and she must be likable/rootable. (Maybe they feel like a woman with Victor’s claws would be a turnoff?) They must have had data that shows audiences like her the way she is, and I’m sure the popular Billy Miller pairing earned her a lot of goodwill. How else to explain why she’s been thrusted in our faces for so long?

Such a beautiful song from Jill Scott (watched her IG Live “battle” with Erykah Badu last night, which was such a warm chat between friends):

I like Gigi too and thought her stand-up was way better than I expected it to be, given how the show previewed her stumbling. But who was it who did her puppet in the mini-challenge? They clocked her for falling back on her robot schtick after the Snatch Game success. I love Jaida as well, and she would be a deserving winner at the end. Her stand-up was terrible, even accounting for the fact that Sherry screwed her over by running long. (Just a cringeworthy concept.) All in all, I think I somewhat agree with Ru that this has been a somewhat strong season.

From Quezon City, Philippines 🇵🇭

From Essex, England 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿 🇬🇧

From Denver 🇺🇸

Wow, the Drag Race editors (and Michelle Visage) are dragging Sherry Pie tonight. But it’s weird because the judges seemed like they enjoyed her performance. They’ve done a somewhat seamless job of downplaying her this season, but moments like this show the disconnect. They obviously don’t want to elevate someone who admitted to heinous things, yet it feels dishonest. I suppose they didn’t have much choice. The two black girls in the bottom... Heidi out. Although it’s clear RuPaul genuinely adores her. So since we know Sherry Pie is not making the finale, the Top 4 is set: Jackie, Gigi, Crystal, and Jaida.

Yeah, it’s just rare that a person in the HW circle would be so ubiquitous (showing up to almost every! single! event!) yet so silent. Almost eerily silent. She’s like a strange inanimate object with a face that rarely even smiles or changes expressions. They must have really hated her, or she must have given them next to nothing to work with.