Skin

The case of the week was actually good.

I couldn't care less about the murder flash forward if I tried.

That said this episode is boring, probably because it's a Laurel highlight --- which no one can be expected to care about.

Matt McGorry is the best actor of the law student set you can tell he gives his all in every one of his scenes, no matter how significant or throw away they are. But his character still feels like an empty husk.

I guess the cat and mouse game between Alfred and Annalise was where this was all leading to, but it still feels a bit hollow.

I don't think the show has ever said he's a "sex addict" and if that's a sex addict I think 99% of America would be sex addicts....

It's been heavily implied in this past episode that Connor feels the need to have sex often -- to the point where his pseudo boyfriend said he might have a problem, this line could have been made in jest, but the seeds are there. Another piece of evidence that may show correlation is when Connor jeopardizes a stable and building relationship with the man in question for a hook up, that could give him the upper hand with his job. I think this is enough to at least plant seeds of him being a sex addict, or at least having a high sex drive which is a part of his character. This is part of the character of Connor, to what degree, who knows -- we have only seen 3 or 4 episodes thus far. But I would say his sex scenes do drive both character and plot value at this point in time. If it becomes rote and that's all he is, and he isn't able to build from that than I would agree that it's gratuitous. But as it stands now they are developing his character and making an effort to flesh him out week after week, so I would say it's intentional. I don't see it as being a big deal and I do think there is more to the character than just sex for the sake of sex.

Him having sex is not the issue. The sex scenes are drawn out, gratuitous, and too graphic for network television. That line "He did this thing to my ass that made my eyes water" was explicit to me. I know I sound like a prude but I think stuff like that is better saved for premium cable.

ETA: This also has been going on on Scandal. Jake fingering Olivia and talking about he loves the way she ride it. I'm all for realistic television but not just throwing sex at the screen just to do it.

I don't see how it's more graphic than Annalise's boyfriend thrusting into her or EP's character thrusting her boobs into the camera simulating a pornographic film while the guy rides her from behind. Let's be real here, this isn't Queer As Folk, Shameless, Weeds or True Blood level sex scenes. It's a bit racier than the typical but not alarmingly steamy, at all in my opinion.

I wonder why progressive seems to translate to sexually explicit. I don't find it tasteful and I don't think it adds to the storytelling. Not offended or shocked. Just kind of bored with the attempt to shock. I'm still watching, for now.

I don't think it's supposed to be tasteful. I think it's clearly been stated that Connor is a sex addict, and he has dirty, messy, fun sex whenever the chance is given -- even if it's a detriment to his other relationships. I think this is realistic and should be shown. It's clearly apart of his character narrative, and I find him to be one of the more interesting characters. The hand wringing over this is so odd to me. Did Samantha from Sex In The City get this much flack for being sexually adventurous? Because I don't see why it's such a big deal for Connor. Overall the sex thing isn't overtly gratuitous to me because it serves a purpose that extends both plot and character development. I don't like the character because he likes sex, but because he gets [!@#$%^&*] done.

I so need Connor to prove he's worth more than simply sleeping with people in order to get information. He reminds me of the people that f**k for musical tracks in hopes that it'll be a hit and boost them to stardom.

Micheala and Connor are the only set of law students who have proven that they can actually get somethings done on their own, and have proven their resourcefulness, in multiple ways. Asher benefits only from nepotism, and Alfred couldn't find a clue if it mowed him down and then hit him again in reverse. Moral girl, seems at such a cross purpose with what Annalise and Co. do that I can't buy her ever truly fitting in. At least with Alfred, I can buy that he is foolish enough to be bended to Annalise's will. Similar to how the assistant bended to EP's character in the most recent episode.

Annalise's assistants are more or less window dressing, so I can't care about them.

On another note, those ratings aren't good. They're collapsing and need to start stabilizing in the next upcoming weeks.

But wow, the acting is baaaad. Like syndicated adventure series in the early '90s bad. Connor's conquest's speech before he fell out the window was just sub-amateurish.

I like that they are developing each of the characters -- specifically Connor and Micheala episode by episode. This episode highlighted Connor, the previous episode highlighted Micheala, the episode before that the moral one and the premiere centered around Alfred.

The guest star, who played the assistant was really bad.

Connor was really OTT last week, too. It's a bit much like GH - if every person is either OTT bitchy or boring wallpaper I can't remember (or Viola Davis), what's there to watch but a circus?*

* - see also: Ryan Murphy

This show reminds me a bit of Nip/Tuck.

Harry Potter boy and his girlfriend are killing me with their vacant stares. I want both of them off the show. Seriously why is he so stupid?

The actress from Weeds is the guest star. I'm happy about that, she's a fun comedic actress.

Connor has become my second favorite. Love their new nicknames, the Ice King and Prom Queen.

I don't like the twist of Connor f-cking Michaela's man back in the day. It came off very contrived and fan-fictiony but I'm sure it will be significant i

I found it believable but they played it too straight. They should have played this out a bit longer, had him drop hints maybe about him knowing something she didn't and have her slowly unravel on what his secret could of been, maybe even start a triangle. But at the same time I am glad it was a non-event because the boyfriend is a dead end actor, who is the least interesting of the three of them and Scandal doesn't need to start up this C story anyway.

I did find him kind of mean spirited, but it was also written oddly. It seemed like the guy wanted to bond with her over the fact that they banged the same guy, mean while Micheala was having this crisis of faith over her boyfriend. Just really weird cross purposes there.

I think the case of the week should be done away with.. perhaps make the case span a couple of episodes instead of one episode.. have multiple cases that start, climax, and resolve at different speeds. We could get to know the five players, two law associates, plus Annalise better this way.

I had high hopes Annalise would be a ball buster.. but the way she acted all weepy with copy man in episode 2 reminded me of Olivia Pope... ugh.

I agree with them needing to do arcs, instead of the procedural case of the week. I don't care about them and it's becoming formulaic. As to Annalise's character I like that they are making her multi-dimensional and giving her vulnerability underneath the tough demeanor. I think Viola Davis excels at that kind of vulnerability which is why she was given that Academy nomination for The Help, and given that killer scene at the end of the film. But I do question her frame of mind, she strikes me as being a character that is very grounded but at the same time about to collapse underneath all of the weight and pressure. She's had three or four exchanges already where she's about to crumble over various men in her life. Be it her husband, her student and her boyfriend. Why are these men so important to her, and why do they effect her so? For this reason I actually think Olivia Pope is a more stable and healthier character of the two of them. I have no doubt that Olivia would shut everything down in the White House and then have a nice date night with her chosen man, Annalise feels like she's about five or six steps away from a breakdown, given the wrong day.

The court room scenes are becoming the most boring thing about the show at this point.

The male lead of this show is annoying me with how stupid he is, or maybe it's just the way the actor is playing him. His gullibility makes me want to push him off a cliff. "You're calling Lila's phone?" I mean really, did we really need to know that? Or is he just inanely stupid.

Annalise, says the same thing each episode. This is the time where you prove your worth.

Micheala Pratt, is becoming my favorite of the bunch.

Been getting back into the series after a long hiatus with it. I stopped watching this at the end of season 6 just because I felt that the show did a horrible job in maintaining their talent. It became a joke every time a cast member got fired or left. There was just a massive amount of talent bleed. Looking back it's obvious why Katherine Heigl left, she was in the midst of a burgeoning film career and was one of ten leads on a show, getting paid peanuts. It's obvious she wanted out, and did everything she could to leave the show. That being said the combined loss of Isobel and George from the original team harmed the show greatly, and the show has never really recovered. You could see that the writers tried to stem those losses but they never really healed over. Lexie and Owen were great standouts though. I never liked Callie or Arizona.

The best ratings premiere the CW has had since the Vampire Dairies 5 years ago. Although it didn't quite beat it. Wouldn't surprise me to see them spin off a third show from the Arrow verse.

Supernatural, The Vampire Dairies, Arrow and now this are going to be the tentpoles for the CW over the next year or so.

Yeah Anna was one of my favorites as well.

This is the show I am most excited about coming back next year. I was so pissed when I realized this doesn't come on in the fall and I have to wait until the new year.

There's only two timelines. The present is when the husband is dead. The past is when he's alive. I don't see how that's so confusing.

It's confusing because the "past timeline" is the main timeline. When the show catches up and forwards us to the future/general timeline people will get it more. As it stands, these "flash forwards" as they are, aren't doing too much for the story other than to shock the viewing audience with a Shonda Rhimes mandated "cliff hanger." She hasn't built the audience up to these shocking stories and as such there is little pay off other than shock value. Reminds me of Nip/Tuck in it's last seasons.

All in all I think these cases would work better if they segued some character development and made some analogies to the trials and the characters we are viewing. As it stands the characters are just there to do shady things and help guilty clients go free. There is no character study, or real internal conflict -- no bleeding to tell us who these characters truly are. It would work better if there was some kind of investment being made by these characters within these procedural episodes, otherwise there is no purpose. They started building something with that one female character who has morals, but what else is behind her? I guess we have 20+ more episodes to find out, but still.

This is a strong show with an interesting premise, but it's already becoming pretty formulaic. The way this episode was written is the same way the pilot was written. It's becoming a procedural show. Set up the case of the week, do something illegal to find evidence to discredit a witness, have the client lie about something they did in the past to put them in a sticky place, add in a compromising sex scene, have a flashback to a murder, have Viola Davis' character do something unsavory to get the client acquitted, close the show with a cliff hanger.

I liked the pilot, but the second episode was just more of the same.

Started the show yesterday, six episodes in. Loving it! I realize this will seem ancient history to most of you but here are my thoughts: There is something old-school addictive about it, cliche and cheesy in a good way, and the acting (at least initially) of many surprised me. As I've gone on, Dobrev & Somerhalder have become more cliche and predictable with their performances but Wesley continues to be fantastic. Really feeling his depressive, trying-to-be-good, occasionally Imma-f.ck-you-good attitude.

I did not expect the show to kill of Zac and Logan so quickly. With Logan, especially, I feel cheated because I was invested in him sorta using Jenna and also having genuine feelings about it and I felt we ought to have seen a reaction from her for being duped twice. Cheat!

Some great twists along the way: Damon and Caroline, Stefan imprisoning Damon, the Sheriff, mayor, mother bitch and DoucheLogan all having a plan, Vicki turned into a vampire! Fun.

Vicki is fantastic and Matt and Tyler also have sides to them and they have been peeling back the layers. Jeremy is one sexy muscly lost sad puppy and I want to take him in and protect him and feed him and then he can f.ck me. Damon and Stefan have me in a perpetual state of horniness and I'm not afraid to admit it. Matt and Tyler can get it, too.

Bonnie's journey to discovering her powers is also good. I am happy it's being slowly done as an arc throughout the season and not a quick discovery. On the other hand, I'm glad Elena wasn't dumb for five seasons and instead put the truth together by episode five.

Caroline is great; telling her mom she'd seek boy advice from her dad since he seems to be the one able to get guys

So far, a mix of predictable teen drama/sibling rivalry tropes with twists I didn't see coming. I'll be watching.

The first two seasons do really well in that that they (at least initially) utilized the community and past history to aid in their story telling, so the story was interesting because the past is utilized well and they steadily establish and community which dealt with the supernatural. I think that is what made the show so interesting until The Originals came along, and pretty much ate the entire show. I think Season 3 was the last passable season, and then the later seasons just became incredibly plodding and tiresome. Another thing that quickly deteriorated the series is that a lot of the plot twists and shocks just started to become either too convoluted or they just ended. Like you explain in the post above, they weren't afraid to kill off seemingly important characters to prove a point, and they stopped doing that after a while. Character development also screeched to a roaring halt.

If you love the Caroline twist in season one, you are going to love the start of season 2.

The best character from the entire show hasn't even arrived yet. So keep getting hooked.

I hope you aren't talking about any of the Originals. They ruined the series for me.

I think Sam is one of the longest running ill defined characters in the shows history.

She was basically just a second version of Courtney Matthews after awhile. She came on the show as a love interest for Jax and then she transitioned from that to Jason's second Action Girl Girlfriend. She was always Adventure girl, and had that background but she was mired in the Jarson drama for much too long. She was at her best during 2007, when she was a villain actively making life worse for Eliesabitch Webber. She's too boring as a heroine. She would be a lot more interesting in the role Britt has been playing.

I hated that whole story, I hated Jason and Sam and I didn't care about that baby. They practically canonized the damn thing after the fact, more than its namesake.

I didn't care for the story either, but I was more concerned with how the situation was hand waved for the maternity storyline between Sam and Alexis so many years later. The death of your first born is not something one should ever get over, and the contemptuous relationship and circumstances regarding it should have always been respected from a story stand point. Even if Alexis wasn't directly responsible, Sam should harbor very strong feelings over the situation. She forgave too easily, in my opinion. Even with the sex with Ric withstanding. Now that Sam has her healthy baby it's like no one remembers her first born daughter anymore. But like with so many aspects of Sam's character its lost, forgotten and temporal.

I think most Taylor fans are fans of her and her music and not the actual genre of song/album. All her albums are successul because fans are able to connect with her songs no matter the genre. Some songs are more country-er, some are more pop, some are more pop/rock.....it doesn't really matter. I think once she's done with "pure pop," whether it be this album or the next, I'm sure she'll change a bit for future albums. Maybe she'll go in the pop rock direction - a sound like U2/Coldplay. She sings, writes, produces, plays intruments, and is the leading force of her career - she's not a puppet. She can do whatever she wants.

I thought we went threw this with Lady Gaga, the bulk of musical artists fans aren't super fans who will except anything from the artist. It's the every day general public, who makes these stars successful. Country fans and Hip-Hop/Rap fans are typically the demographic that are the most "loyal" to their artists and stars. But even then if their brand loyalty deteriorates they can experience diminished returns with their successive albums. That's why a musical artist can be on top of the world one moment, and the next they are skating near levels of obscurity. I think Taylor has largely peaked, Fearless will remain her biggest album from a worldwide stand point, now its just a point of how long she can mediate the loss of general fan attrition.

The record I want is Britney Spears' "Oops I Did It Again" record for highest one week sales for a female artist. "Red" got 1.2 million but "Oops" got 1.3 million. Hoping "1989" gets 1.4 million.

Not going to happen without her Country fanbase which she has consistently been isolating with each of her successive album releases. She pretty much told them to completely eff off in a press statement about the album earlier this month. This album is a pure pop album and there will be nothing there for country fans. Way to completely give the middle finger to the fanbase that made her a household name. She's killing her crossover appeal, and her sales will tumble because of it. Shame as she could have been the next Shania Twain in courting both markets.

I think the last full season I watched of this was season 7. I'm glad the show is still running and the CW are still giving Jared and Jensen pay checks though. This show will probably go on for another 2 seasons at least. The CW has nothing else to show at this point, might as well ride this pony into the ground.

Are you watching the show now? How do you feel about Katherine's exit (which seemed way more unpopular than the show had realized)?

Katherine's exit was the most impacting episode of the entire season, Gone Girl is probably the best episode of season 5. Haven't watched the last two episodes of the season, and honestly don't feel compelled to do so. Word is that the series may be wrapping up either this season or next season (depending on if the core three renew their contracts at the end of this season).

Was Jeffery Morgan busy or did they just write him out? I kind of felt that was where Fiona was heading right before Jimmy smashes into her orbit again.

Playing catchup on Season 5 of this.

Since I see the post are end of Season 3, any thoughts on Season 4?

Season 4 is the worst season, by far. I would say it gets a bit better towards the end due to Elena's loss of humanity but I would consider season 4 the worst season, easily.

I've been watching its not that interesting lately, beyond predictable and the 100th epi sucked.

Katherine was the only redeemable thing about this season so far. I really feel like the Original's killed the show. From that point onward the mythology has just become that much weaker.

It wasn't clear to me that it was a choice. Maybe it was, but I figure between Mickie's father and her employer, she wasn't doing a lot of decision making in that situation. The way we saw the replacement sex workers get out of the truck, I figured they weren't normal prostitutes, but sex slaves. Sort of like the women on the second season of The Wire, if you've seen that.

I always understood it as they were eastern European immigrants who had no family, no money and no skills to make it in America legally, so they sold themselves to make money. Kind of like how illegal Mexicans end up taking contract and migrant field work because that is the only way they can make ends meet. From the way Mickey, Kevin and everyone else speaks about them it seems like these women have no unique skills to diversify themselves in the economic market and can't get regular jobs elsewhere, thus the prostitution.

Ultimately I think she has a choice, but she just didn't care and now she is becoming an opportunist out to benefit as much as she can from the situation she was placed in.

I felt like the entire purpose of this season was to show that Fiona wasn't perfect, but the entire way they went about getting there made no sense. She did things that were so out of character, I had no idea who this person was supposed to be. I guess perhaps it was an adverse reaction to holding down her entire family for the last 5 or so years and putting every thing on hold to put the family together. But then in the end she almost destroyed the very thing that she was trying to protect, so what the hell? She nearly brought them all out of poverty only to !@#$%^&*] everything up. I need more understanding as to why this happened?

Yay, Jimmy's back!!!!

What was the point of that extended scene with Mandy at the cafe? We saw her all season long, what was the point of Lip seeing her there? He knew that she was a waitress before didn't he?

I am looking forward to Ian's storyline next year, especially since they have made the choice to make him bi-polar. I hope they do a better job of portraying his bipolar storyline than the one they did with Degrassi's Craig and Six Feet Under's Billy.

Micky needs to get a paternity test. I feel more sympathy for his wife than a lot of people, since I think she's basically a sex slave or at least she was before she married Micky. Still, he needs to know for sure this child is his before he gets close to the kid only to find out he's really Mickie's half brother, instead of his son.

I agree with you on the paternity test. Especially in light of the fact that she is a prostitute, the father could be anyone. As to sympathy for his wife, I don't have sympathy for her. I feel like people forget that she basically raped him for money. Mickey's father forced him to have sex with her in front of Ian with a gun pointed to his head and an explicit threat that he was going to kill both of them if he didn't sleep with her, and then because she got pregnant he was basically forced into marrying her to appease his father.