And we're back in the game.....

[chrysalitron]

I've been meaning to update over the last couple weeks, but you know how the holidays go.  Okay, I lie.....I wasn't busy the ENTIRE time.  But when I wasn't busy, I was sitting on my ass watching the first season of Charmed (yes - a new show for me - like I needed another?) and reading and basically......yeah.....being lazy.

Anyway - I hope everyone had a good Christmas (or whatever you do or don't celebrate!) and New Year!  And now, on to the show(s)....

Dear Dan and Serena:  Do you EVER stop sucking?  No, really.  There is nothing about this couple that remotely interests me.  They're bad enough apart, and they're just as bad - if not worse - together.  I LOVE that Dan got all indignant when Rufus asked that Serena not be there when he's not home.  Granted, yes, it's a little late for Rufus to pull the parental role out of his hat, and of course he had his reasons for it (because apparently, "I'm the parent and I make the rules" isn't a good enough reason)......but watching Dan get so huffy about the fact that he CAN'T HAVE SEX WITH HIS GIRLFRIEND IN HIS FATHER'S HOME just made me roll my eyes.

Also, did we really build up that entire Aaron story so it can be erased away in the first few minutes of the episode?  I can't help but wonder if that's going to come back up at some point.  Mostly because Aaron is now Blair's stepbrother.....so he kinda CAN'T disappear.

Other than that, though.....yeah, boring.  SOOO boring.  And Serena really irked the shit out of me when she gave Blair a condescending lecture about helping Chuck.  Wow, hypocritical much?  Serena was so busy juggling her many boyfriends when Bart actually died that she couldn't be bothered to give Chuck the time of day - except, of course, to whine when he made demands that interfered with her social life.  On top of that, she can SEE what this is doing to Blair.  As much as I love Blair and Chuck, and as much as I figured she'd run after him, I totally got where she was coming from.  You can help somebody, but you shouldn't have to take abuse from them.  She had to take care of herself before anybody else.  So for Serena to get all sigh-y and put-upon made me hope that Blair smacked her.  Of course she didn't.....but I always live in hope.

Having said all that - I LOVE that Blair was able to get Chuck down off the roof and he collapsed in her arms.  And apologized!  Oh, Chuckles.  But what's the deal with Uncle Jack?  (Seriously, how old is this guy?  Did Grandpa Bass have kids in every generation or what?)  I missed the first five minutes or so of the episode, so I'm not sure if the Blair/Jack thing was alluded to then, or if it was one of those "surprise shockers" in the last few minutes.

I kind of enjoyed Jenny and Eric running roughshod over the popular girls.  I think it just further proves my theory that Jenny is much better tolerated if Eric is around to balance her out.  On that note - I love that Eric tried to reach out to Chuck again, and even though Chuck didn't give in to it, at least he wasn't mean to Eric.  Aww!

Loved that they all took the battle to Blair, who was all "I cannot even DEAL with this shit!"  HA.

Next week:  Dan and Serena get less boring and self-righteous!  Okay, probably not, but a girl can dream, right?

~&~&~

Okay, I'm going to put this out there before the storyline starts getting on my nerves and I remember how much I haaaate the couple involved.......but I'm not NOT okay with this pregnancy storyline.  In fact, I almost think Peyton's cuteness level went up about a billion when she started talking to her baby.  Damn it.

Of course, I'm also going to put this out there:  The baby is not going to see the light of day.  I'm calling that right now.  For one thing - this is Tree Hill, for god sakes.  Tragedies-R-Us.  Since Peyton and Lucas are sooo happy, of course it's going to get wrecked somehow.  And on a more selfish level - the pregnancy is already making me tolerate these two slightly better, so of COURSE it will not last.

I liked that Lucas stuck up for Julian.  It doesn't mean he LIKES Julian, and I think he still doesn't trust him whatsoever.  But he senses that Julian is invested in this movie and and wants it to do well.  Of course that means no more cracked-out Dawson Leery (sob!), but I guess I can deal with that.  It doesn't take long for The Beek to start wearing on my nerves, anyway.

I was kinda pissed that they were pulling the cancer scare and then having Peyton be knocked up, until I realized that she didn't get the official call from the doctor until AFTER she had looked up those sites.  Okay, show, fine.  Be that way. 

Can I just state for the record that Nathan's basketball story is BORING THE LIVING HELL OUT OF ME?  Let's just say I was over the basketball story at least half a season ago, if not longer.  But, okay, it doesn't involve a psycho nanny, so I thought I'd go with it....until I saw how ridiculously overplayed (pun intended?) this story is.  The whole rivalry between Nathan and the other point guard?  OH MY GOD I AM ALREADY HALF ASLEEP.  Plus I thought tearing up Nathan's family photos was just so stupidly overdramatic.  Come on!  Who does that?  Seriously?

Jamie and Dre - cute.  Nice to see Jamie with a friend who isn't in their 20s or 40s.  And it's nice to see that Q is still remembered (the boys visiting the grave, Nathan wanting to wear his number), especially since they finally gave us some resolution to that story.

Oh, but on that note - as soon as the boys walked past that pond or lake or whatever, I totally went "Tragic water incident!  Someone is going to nearly drown!"  Like I said - Tragedies-R-Us.  I've gotten used to expecting the most overwrought outcome.

Millicent and Mouth - okay, I really wanted to see Millie and Owen in action, because HOT.  (Is there some reason Joe Manganiello does not get any love scenes?  For real).  A little disappointed that it didn't happen.  However, I was glad to see Millie and Mouth break up.  Do they still love each other?  Of course.  And maybe they'll get back together, but right now, there's just no way.  Not only can Mouth not forgive Millicent, I don't think she can forgive herself.  Having said that - man, am I going to have a hard time watching Brooke go off on Millie next week.  

Yes, I was a little miffed that Mouth was so quick to judge Millicent, but.....well, I guess if I looked at it objectively, I couldn't blame him.  Was Mouth wrong in what he did with Gigi?  Absolutely, and I think Millie deserved a HELL of a lot better.  But at the end of the day, his argument will be that he didn't sleep with her.  He didn't technically cheat - he just disrespected the crap out of his girlfriend and acted inappropriately.  So yes, glad to see those two get a break.  And I will state for the record that I would not be AGAINST Millicent hooking up with Owen again.  Maybe this time onscreen.....

Back when he first showed up, I thought Chase was okay, but he didn't totally wow me.  He kinda grows on me as time goes on, though.  What I like is the fact that he and Owen sell their friendship.  We really haven't seen too much of them together (two episodes worth?  Maybe?), but in that scene at the bar, I totally bought that they were friends and cared about each other.  Maybe I was distracted by JM's scruffy goodness, though.

Also, I am cautiously optimistic about Chase and Mia.  They're cute!  It's nice to see Mia get to do something besides play the guitar and talk to Peyton.

I giggled a bit when Haley IMMEDIATELY figured out that Peyton was pregnant.  Hee!  Of course, I think that's another reason why something will happen to the baby.  Peyton has been pregnant for approximately a day (okay, maybe I'm exaggerating), and already Lucas is bragging about it and Haley has figured it out.  Jinkies!  Baby Keith (oh, come on, you KNOW they would name the baby Keith!) is in trouble here.

Now, the Brooke/Sam story.  Was it kind of cheesy and overdramatic in places?  Sure.  Did it keep me on the edge of my seat, even knowing how it would turn out?  Of course.  I love that Brooke got to take some of her power back by kicking the CRAP out of creepy....what was his name again?  You know, that guy.  I love that Julian was concerned but not freaking out, because Julian does not DO the drama.  I love that Sam was, of course, the person to stop Brooke from killing him.  Was the Mom thing cheesy?  Yes, but I totally got it.  I think at that point, that was the ONLY thing someone could say to break through to her, and Sam knew that.  And let's face it - from the sounds of it, Brooke really IS Sam's mother.  Has it been a little rushed?  Maybe.  But the connection between them is obvious, from Brooke slipping up and referring to Sam as her daughter, to Sam being the one to stop Brooke.

Of course, while all that happened, Julian and Jack were chilling in the doorway.  Ha!  Granted, I probably wouldn't know what to do in that situation either.....but, yeah.  Nice to see you, boys.  Kick off your shoes and stay awhile.  Oh, and never mind the girl holding the skeeze at gunpoint.

What am I forgetting?  I'm not sure, but it feels like I missed something.  Ah, well.  On a final note - I loved Haley's whole ramble about "I hate it when Deb calls to say she's sleeping over at Skills', because I KNOW they're not sleeping and that's just creepy."  Hee!

ETA:  Oh, I know what I forgot!  I LOVELOVELOVE that Owen mentioned that he was injured in Slamball and was on pain pills, because it actually explains his recent dismissive behavior of the Sam situation.  I said at the time that it was totally out of character - Owen may not be ready to be a father, but he cared about Brooke and by extension, cared what happened to Sam....so to see him be so cavalier in the last episode read to me as shenanigans.  So I was really glad to hear an explanation.  Also, I like that there was more to his fall off the wagon than just Brooke.  Because I love Brooke too.....but giving up eight years of sobriety because she yelled at him?  Jinkies.

Next week:  Poor Millicent gets kicked around some more.  I know, I know - sleeping with Brooke's ex is bad (though I'm guessing Brooke is also going to have issues with Millicent hurting Mouth).  But I think I'm going to have a slight problem with it when, in the same episode, Brooke has a "business meeting" with Julian - her best friend's ex.  

Oh, who am I kidding - Brooke and Julian are kinda hot.  Brooke/Julian, Chase/Mia, maaaybe some more Millicent/Owen?  I think this might all be interesting enough to distract me from Lucas and Peyton, who I'm sure will get back to pissing me off anytime now.