1 hour ago, Liberty City said:

Whoever did the choreography for today's episode deserves a pay raise above the fee they likely received, because that was absolutely OUTSTANDING! Wow. I am amazed.

Sheila Ducksworth said in tvinsider: "You’re going to see the handiwork of our choreographer, Jamaica Craft, who is bar none the best in Atlanta. We have used her on several occasions."

Now that was a great cliffhanger, and for a Tuesday no less! At first I thought Derek was an idiot, but hopefully he was able to push the shooter out of the way so his aim was off. I'm hoping Jacob is only mildly hurt.

What a great episode!

The cotillion was done better than Winterfest. There was actual structure and the build up to it was worth it.

The Belleclaires commupance was perfect for them. No one cared to pay them any attention and for narcissists that is devastating.

Lia didn't even hesitate to beg for a deal. I was sure she was going to tell Wren who Jacob is.

Today's episode of BTG was the best episode of a soap opera I have seen in years. Although I have not been a huge fan of the plasma smuggling plot (I thought the concept was good, but the writing missed too many important beats, details were too few, and most of the plot has been overly simplified), the wrap-up of the storyline had me glued to my chair yesterday, and especially today. The show pulled off the Cotillion better than I ever expected. And that type of "event" is not easy to do on a soap opera in 2026, mostly because of budget restrictions. Since the Cotillion was not a high-stakes plot, it was brilliant to pair it with the dénouement of the plasma story which is very high-stakes. Taking the audience back and forth between one event which was mostly celebratory and another which was dark and threatening really worked for me. Great episode today, in my opinion.

Edited 5 hours ago5 hr by Tisy-Lish

-- Very ambitious episode, much of it successful, some not so much.

-- Wardrobe continues to shine, and as others have said, the choreography was outstanding. I appreciate the time and effort put into all of it. This cotillion has been so much better than Winterfest there's no sense comparing them. It's been really good stuff.

-- I do wonder about the choice to add the contemporary dance moves for the group and for Jessica. I know they had reasons for it -- bring the cotillion into the modern world included -- but I'd prefer a ceremony honoring tradition remaining traditional. Those 2026 dance moves added nothing. The cotillion traditions were covered and portrayed SO well, and I wish the show had stayed with that.

They clearly wanted to show us that the Duprees -- again -- are progressive and awesome while everyone else is staid and stuffy. I just don't think using the cotillion to pimp the Duprees was necessary.

The same thing was done by having everyone in charge get sick so the Duprees could take over the entire event. I mean, really???

And Deanna showing up in all black was just plain weird.

-- I loved balancing the bright cotillion with the dark warehouse, but I'm really meh on the warehouse execution. I'll give them credit for all that movement which covers up a really terrible story that makes little sense if you think about it.

-- Why was Randy picked up and thrown into the cop car? Wouldn't they let him go into the warehouse since he might be part of the operation? And what the hell did Joey send him there to check on anyway??? Made no sense.

-- Why would Lia show up at the warehouse at all? This woman has been in power and control, yet she'd show up for a "VIP meeting"? Whatever that is. And why is this free clinic seemingly THE key to the entire operation when we saw ONE locked plasma container at the clinic?

-- What is supposed to be going on at the warehouse? A VIP meeting? Or Jacob and Grayson delivering plasma in small carrying cases? Are they the only ones delivering plasma?

Why is Ren the only one walking around until the very end when we get gunfire? And why didn't the cops stop Derek from entering?

-- The huge warehouse set works in a "Hey, look over here!" way to distract us from a story that is really a mess. I can't wait until it's over, but I think they're going to drag it and not tell us who the Impaler is.

Edited 5 hours ago5 hr by ranger1rg

Any speculation on why Nicole left the Cotillion early? I know the scripted reason (to help a patient), but what does her leaving early contribute to the plot? Do they need to have her back at Garland for another reason??

And, who was the character with the gun that Derek tried to stop at the end of the episode? Is this a character anyone recognizes? Is this person supposed to be the Impaler?

I loved the show today, especially the Cotillion, they did a great job.

Both the men and the ladies looked beautiful, even spiteful Francesca.

22 minutes ago, ReddFoxx said:

The Belleclaires commupance was perfect for them. No one cared to pay them any attention and for narcissists that is devastating.

That was sweet.

3 hours ago, Liberty City said:

I do wish Jessica would lessen the snark just a bit... at least her parents showed up for the cotillion.

Her parents both acted like sacks of crap.

The mother was giving me flashbacks of Pheobe Tyler.

It would be really good if they did a young love story with Tyrell and Jessica and Jessica's parents being totally opposed to it.

Edited 4 hours ago4 hr by MontyB

This was a pretty good episode and I loved the contrast between the glitz and glamour of a long held tradition with the darkness of a crime ring going on at the same time. I think the soap would do well to have their stories straddle the line between the glitz of wealth and the seedy underbelly of the community the elite live in.

Ever since the show had Derek being unable to return to the fire department, the show has tried to show his attempt at rebuilding his life and having him die a hero would be a tragic irony... and the most logical end to his often confusing arc.

The warehouse set is legitimately impressive. I just wish it had been in play months ago, as the brick wall jokes wrote themselves for quite awhile now.

I'll get to the rest of the show later but some of this stuff was really giving Wildwind days from AMC. IYKYK. Gorgeous.

Edited 3 hours ago3 hr by Vee

34 minutes ago, Soaplovers said:

Ever since the show had Derek being unable to return to the fire department, the show has tried to show his attempt at rebuilding his life and having him die a hero would be a tragic irony... and the most logical end to his often confusing arc.

Nothing to this point shows Derek being a hero. Maybe that'll come, but it hasn't happened yet.

If Derek dies while criminals like Lia and Ren live, I won't be happy.

Meanwhile, Joey -- the guy in charge -- calls his MAIN ENFORCER Randy to check on things. Huh? Randy couldn't even get into the warehouse without cops pulling him.

What were the police waiting for regarding a move into the warehouse? Seems like only gunfire told them to go in 😂

I mean, it's a soap. Folks are gonna die tragically. No one will care if Lia or Ren die. Derek OTOH used to be a main castmember and some people do like him (God knows why) so that's drama. Lia and Ren getting apprehended and sent off to the hoosegow is a perfectly fine fate for them.

18 minutes ago, ranger1rg said:

What were the police waiting for regarding a move into the warehouse? Seems like only gunfire told them to go in

I think the police officers outside were waiting for Jacob to open the door and leave it ajar. Wasn't that the agreed upon signal to move in and make arrests? But when they heard gun shots, they stormed in without waiting on the signal. Am I correct about this?

33 minutes ago, Vee said:

The warehouse set is legitimately impressive. I just wish it had been in play months ago, as the brick wall jokes wrote themselves for quite awhile now.

I'll get to the rest of the show later but some of this stuff was really giving Wildwind days from AMC. IYKYK. Gorgeous.

Yes, especially during Jacob's call to his dad, he made it out that he had compiled this long list of names and people involved. Yet all we've seen Jacob do is stand at a wall and in a motel room. Moreover, all the digging he has done that we, the viewers, were privy to was Smitty giving him a list of names from the hospital that went nowhere and him finding out Lia was involved. I almost wished Joey's assumption that Smitty and Jacob were knocking boots would have had bigger ramifications, because Smitty would be stupid enough to keep his mouth shut even if Martin confronted him just not to let out the story.