Watch List – 2/3 – 2/9: What Are ‘Luxury Meats’?

Television

Severance – S2E4 (AppleTV+)

We watched episode 4 once and then rewatched the entire second season again, and I took two pages of notes.

We also watched the New Rockstars breakdowns of each episode, and they revealed some things we missed.

Here are my notes. They include some really out-there theories, but I was right about Helly R. being Helena, so I’m gonna keep throwing them out there:

S2E1 Notes:

• What does the glacier photograph in Mr. Milkshake’s office mean?
• I think Cobell’s storm clouds were a reflection of her inner brain workings, so maybe it is similar for Milkshake? His office feels much colder in comparison for sure.
• There will be a punk band in the future called “The Shambolic Rubes.”

S2E2 Notes:

• ”The Shambolic Rubes” first album will be “Fetid Moppet.”
• The Innies were “awake” for 39 minutes (IDK if that is significant; I just haven’t written it down anywhere yet.)
• Helena Eagan is so lonely, y’all.
• Trickle-down solace is what Lumen is selling to Mark Scout.
• I am convinced there are multiple locker rooms. They each seemingly walk into the same room, but the number on each row of lockers is different. I’m keeping an eye on this. Mickey thinks it’s nothing, but I think there is something there, maybe.
• Locker numbers:
  • Irving – 4
  • Helly – 16
  • Dylan – 23
  • Mark – idk I didn’t write it down for some reason?
• Mrs. Cobel drives a white rabbit. Is this Alice in Wonderland-related, maybe?

S2E3 Notes:

• Mrs. Lustgarten was Mark’s kindergarten teacher. That feels… odd.
• This was my only note from this episode.

S2E4 Notes:

• ORTBO is an anagram for ROBOT
• The Shadow Mark that is pointing the way in the icy woods is the same fella that was in the hallway watching Mark S in episode 1.
• Does frolic = fuck?
• The numbers 1457 and AEGN were repeating on the screen of Irving’s forest computer. Those can spell Eagan. Irv’s subconscious was letting him in on Helly R’s secret.
• Do you think there was dream suppression in the tents, and that’s why no one else dreamed (that we saw, at least)?
• The snow on trees and stuff doesn’t seem to behave like real snow.
• I don’t think they are really outside. I think they are still on the Sever’d floor. Maybe the Sever’d basement. Maybe the Exports Hall?
• In the “previously on”, they included a quote from Mrs. Cobell along the lines of, “The surest way to tame a prisoner is to let them believe they are free.”
• I think that is what Lumen is doing here with this outdoor experience, 100%.
• I am dying to know what the “luxury meats” are.
• I hope we get to see the story of Kier and the Thieving Nanny.
• “Hey, kitty.” Interesting way for Irving to address Helly.
• I think they have history somehow.
• I also think Iriving might already be integrated as well. I don’t know why exactly, just a weird gut feeling.

The Traitors – S3E7 (Peacock)

Here are my word-vomit thoughts:

• I kind of hope there’s not a murder.
• Carolyn’s funereal look is incredible.
• Sad to see Derrick go, Rob is making himseldf really obvious.
• I just danced around the Princess TV Room yelling, “Tom Sandoval figure it out! Tom Sandoval, figure it out!”
• The only way Danielle could turn my opinion of her around now is if she goes after Boston Rob successfully with the help of Carolyn or Tom Sandoval.
• I honestly still don’t know anyone’s name yet.
• Why is there a dog there?
• Who is Britney even?
  • Okay, she is from Big Brother. Thanks, context clues!
• Boston Rob seems to only be able to trust white men. He might want to do some introspection.
• I did not expect to fall in love with Tom Sandoval, but here I am.
• Ooh, Alan as a BRIDE!
• Gabby and Carolyn are a pair!!!!!!?!
  • Ooh, and they are going head-to-head against Danielle and Britney. This should be interesting.
• What a weirdly simple challenge. Holding hands? I’m interested in the twist. Unless it’s just people being mean to each other.
• Okay, it will be bugs or something. This would be fine for me.
• You know what? Rob is being really great with his partner in this challenge. I bet he is really patient with his daughters.
• I love this Gabby and Carolyn team-up.
• I think I might like Dylan, too.
• I want Tom and Dylan and Gabby and Carolyn to team up.
• I think one of the reasons I love Gabby is her voice. It reminds me of our Sexologist at EngErotics and she’s a great human, so that translates to Gabby for me.
• Tom made a good choice of hat.
• Ugh, so sad Rob has a shield.
• Ugh, so does Danielle.
• I don’t want to lose Tom or Gabby, please.
• Oh, wait, shields only protect from murder, not from the round table. There is hope for Boston Rob and Danielle leaving then!
• I spell shield wrong every single time. Thank goodness for autocorrect.
• YES, CAROLYN, GET RID OF ROB.
• YES, CAROLYN, YOU ARE DOING IT.
• Thank goodness. Yeesh. Maybe I will enjoy this show more now.
• Carolyn is not reacting enough.
• I still don’t like Danielle, but I’m glad Rob is gone.
• Who said, “Traitors, you’d better kill me because I’m coming for you?”
• Please keep Tom. Please keep Tom.

Search Party – rewatch (MAX)

I am finished with this, and the last two seasons were a sprint. Mickey had only watched the fifth season once, so he joined me and we just busted through these last two seasons.

Some folks don’t like them and pretend they don’t exist, and that’s okay for them. But for me, the ridiculous escalation of this series is the point.

There is no way you could watch episode 1 of this series and predict where they would end up in the series finale.

Or the literal work of art the seasons leading up to the final season are. Each one is different, each one is impeccable written and crafted.

The sheer artistry of this soft apartment in Season 4 is breathtaking. And the acting, especially by Alia Shawkat and Cole Escola, matches or exceeds everything else.

And the guest stars. Here is a (VERY) short list off the top of my head of the folks that show up for one or more episodes:

• Susan Sarandon
• Ron Livingston
• Jeff Goldblum
• Christine Taylor
• Wallace Shawn
• J. Smith Cameron
• Parker Posey
• Louie Anderson
• Kate Berlant
• Ann Dowd
• Rosie Perez
• Chloe Fineman
• John Waters
• Sunita Mani
• Zach Cherry
• Lou Diamond Phillips

And more. These were just offa the top of my dome.

I watched this show at the urging of some friends with excellent taste. When I read the story of how this show came to exist, I fell in love even more.

Here is teh short story with a link to read it in full. Warning: there are spoilers for all five seasons, so go watch the show before reading it.

Basically, Charles Rogers and Sarah-Violet Bliss were taking a screenwriting class at NYU, where they met Professor Michael Showalter, who you might know from Wet Hot American Summer. He saw the magic of their millennial voices and kind of took them under his wing. They kicked around this idea for a hot minute and immediately ran with it once it was given the murder mystery hook.

It’s on Max; there are 5 seasons, each consisting of 10 30-minute episodes. If you watch it, please come to me with your reactions, because they will be big and there will be a LOT of them.

High Potential (Hulu)

Where is IT in this police station? Who just puts a random flash drive in and expects anything other than a virus?!

Mickey has started watching this with me regularly, and it is fun to try to figure out the killer before they do. This show is pretty clever, though, and sometimes they get us.

I love how upfront and positive this show is about co-parenting. I would love to see more of this on TV.

There is one thing I do not like about this show, and that is the song over the end credits. It just doesn’t vibe with the rest of the show.

Abbott Elementary (Hulu)

I think this might be Janelle James’ Emmy year. She is doing the work this year, and her performance is better than ever.

My only other note from this episode is, “Who is the crossing guard in the opening credits?” so now I will go look that up.

Hmm, I cannot find the answer to this. I’m even more curious now.

Pop Culture Jeopardy (Amazon Prime)

The Miz!

I really think I’d be great at this.

Game Changer (Dropout TV)

I have started writing a weekly letter to Sam Reich filled with mine, Aubrey’s, and Mickey’s ideas that just flow into our brains without stopping whenever we watch Dropout TV.

Here is a selection from this week’s letter:

• NEW: Hire Under The Desk News for a short nightly news program. It should last 15 minutes, tops. They already give an incredible roundup on TikTok and could fit so well with y’all. Mainstream news is trash. We need someone to trust. 
• OTHER: Let us help you with your awards show campaigns. I am autistic, and awards shows have been my special interest since I was in middle school. 
• APP: Once you turn on closed captioning, they should stay on forever! instead of turning them on every episode! More inclusive to def/audd people!
• FOR US: Sometimes we don’t always agree with the way Sam scores things on Game Changer, so it would be fun to watch an episode (or more) with Aubz where we give our scores, just to see if the winner is different.)
• APP: Profiles on the account. This will make sharing easier – and keeping track of who is watching what. 

We’re finishing up this Game Changer rewatch, and then I think we might do a Dimension 20. Any suggestions for which one we should start with?

The White Lotus: rewatch (Max)

I’m just rewatching the previous seasons to get my brain tuned back into Mike White’s writing for season three, which features one of my favorites since the 90s: PARKER POSEY.

I will say that Jake Lacy’s character in season 1 reminds me so much of my ex-husband that it makes me physically uncomfortable.

Goddamn, Jennifer Coolidge is excellent in this.

Mythic Quest (Apple TV+)

This is the best show no one is watching. This is the REASON we subscribed to AppleTV in the first place and it never disappoints.

Also, I love Poppy’s boyfriend! I don’t like many boyfriends on television. I would have loved examples like this when I was coming of age.

Movies

Everything Everywhere All At Once: Re-re-re-re-re-(infinity)-rewatch (Max)

Didn’t know what to watch, so I popped this on and cried. It was great.

Challengers: Rewatch for Me, but Mickey’s first time! (Prime)

As many times as I’ve watched this movie, Mickey hasn’t.

I was weirdly protective and nervous about it for some reason. I learned, through the process of reading The House of Sand and Fog, that this probably stems from my marriage. I guess I had kind of blocked it out of my brain, but as I read the book, I heard my ex-es bellows echoing in my brain about what a depressing movie it was and how there was nothing good in it. Loud yells for minutes at a time. I heard myself defending the movie that I saw as a valuable lesson and piece of art. I stopped quickly, but he continued when it would have been just as easy to say, “I didn’t like it. That movie wasn’t for me and I would prefer if we didn’t watch movies like that for a while.” Or something similarly healthy, not something that was just telling me how broken I must be to see any kind of light in that.

And then, when the terribly sad book was complete, I let that shit go. I was such a small, stuck person, and I’m glad I’m not anymore.

When I watched Challengers, my favorite movie of the season, with Mickey, I was not afraid of him not liking it so much that he would verbally abuse me about it for hours and days afterward. I knew the movie was excellent, D confirmed it when she watched it.

And so did Mickey.

He even gave me an fantastic compliment in the middle. It went something like this:

”You do a really good job about sharing your joy for something without giving away the plot. The only thing I knew about this movie was that it was a tennis movie with a SOUNDTRACK.”

That’s my goal: to get folks to watch things without giving away the plot!

Mickey enjoyed Challengers. I mean, of course, he did. It’s a fucking great movie. I’m glad we watched it together.

I have been thinking about watching The House of Sand and Fog without a big, loud fog in my ear. I don’t think I’m there yet, though.

The Superbowl

Go birds.

The best commercials were the commercials for the Indy 500.

I get annoyed at all the celebrities in commercials nowadays. First off, that is lazy as hell creative. Secondly, commercials are one of the mediums that young actors (meaning actors just getting started in the business, not speaking on age) used to be able to consistently get work in. Not any more, because celebs have been slipping in more and more.

Think about it – how many commercials had celebrities in the title role in the commercial? And how many were celebrities?

It’s boring, it’s sad, it’s uncreative and it hurts the little person.

Another thing – I know I’m in marketing myself, but I think about the way I approach it a bit differently. I rarely pay fo advertising space for my clients. Instead, we make inroads in communities to show up in a way that makes us feel not like a product but like a part of a community that we are serving.

That’s partly because the money spent on ads has to go somewhere- and more often than not (especially with smaller companies not making a huge profit yet), that cost is passed on to the consumer.

So next time you complain about the cost of beer or Doritos or Coca-Cola, remember that each spot they bought in the Superbowl cost them 8 million dollars for 30 seconds – and that’s not even including the cost of the creative.

Oh, and, of course, I loved Kendrick’s performance. It was near perfect. My only complaint is that he didn’t perform “Sticky” with a full marching band behind him.

It wouldn’t have fit with his work of art, though.