What I Watched Today

(rambling, random thoughts & annoyingly detailed recaps from real time TV watching)

 

 

Shahs of Sunset

Meanwhile at the Western Wall, GG isn’t feeling comfortable. Shervin seems to think the Wall is for Jews only, and GG says someone said “jihad” to her, which sounds pretty stupid. It makes her think of how people in the past have said Jews and Muslims shouldn’t mix. In his interview, Mike says that GG and Shervin feel a disconnect, and he felt the same way in Turkey. He says all religions seek enlightenment, but he can’t tell them how to feel, and the Wall will stand strong for them if they should decide to come back.

MJ feels that she doesn’t have the right to ask for anything for herself. She starts to cry during her interview, thinking of praying for children in need. Reza asks if she felt a connection, and says he’s tingling. Asa says the baby was kicking against the Wall. Destiney says it drowns you in a sense of release, and can’t believe how free she feels, especially being a Muslim. GG suggests they move on.

Shopping! The Jerusalem market place is bustling. Reza says he’s shopping where Jesus shopped, and talks about how crosses and menorahs are side-by-side. It’s doubtful that the wares in Jesus’s day sported slogans like Shalom, Ya’ll though. GG says she misses her boyfriend Shalom, because she hears his name everywhere. Ha-ha! GG tells Reza that she has marriage and kids on her mind. Her only reservation is the religion thing. In his interview, Reza says her brain is like a pinball. She asks him if it’s hard being half Muslim and half Jewish. He says it’s insane. Growing up gay as well, he felt like he didn’t fit in. GG says he has anger toward Muslims because of what he went through, and she doesn’t want that for her children.

The Holy Sepulcher is next. Mike marvels about being at the holiest Jewish site in the world, and then the holiest Christian site. He’s on a crazy spiritual high. He’s been in darkness, and now the light is so bright it hurts his eyes. He says that no matter who you are, the key is to find light. If people think you can’t get along with others of different faiths, they should watch this show. Stupid as it is, the Shahs are a wonderful example of getting along. Even when they don’t, it’s never about the differences in their faiths.

Omg, MJ has her makeup laid out like a buffet in her room. A tattoo artist is coming to the hotel lounge to ink GG. Asa asks GG why the others are against it. GG says that she has a lot of tattoos, but none is of a man’s name, and she wants to brand herself with Shalom’s name in Hebrew. Destiney joins them. She says she’s down with tatts on a dude, but thank God for laser removal.

MJ, Reza, Shervin and Mike (sounds like a law firm or folk band) go out to do some drinking. Mike thinks GG is cuckoo. In his interview, Reza says she’s hesitant to come to Israel, but wants Shalom tattooed on her torso. He wonders how she reconciles things in that special head, and I laugh.

GG makes a lot of uncomfortable sounds during the procedure, but the tattoo looks good.

MJ says it’s her last hurrah. She’s getting pregnant when she gets home. Reza says it’s the last hurrah every time she has a drink, and we flash back to three last hurrahs. Reza thinks that MJ getting pregnant in a month timeframe isn’t realistic. He suggests planning a wedding, but MJ wants to get pregnant first. Reza is like, wait a second, because she’s saying Asa should get married. MJ says she’s not having a bastard child, but Asa will. (I can’t believe anyone even uses that term anymore.) She says as soon as the test is positive, they’ll do everything. If not, she’s not marrying Tommy, because he smokes around the dogs and eats hard candy at night. And likes the Mets. Reza says there will always be issues, but she has to keep moving forward in spite of what’s happening. They move on to a club that reminds me of the old Danceteria.

GG and Asa are sleeping when the partiers get to the hotel lounge. Shervin finds a hair extension hanging from a lampshade, and we both go, eww. MJ gets GG’s room key, and Reza says that they’re going in Israeli defense style. They wake her up, and want to see the tattoo. She’s surprisingly compliant. They want to be there when she tells Shalom, and she decides to Facetime with him. She shows him the tattoo, and he says omfg that’s real. Reza tells him to go buy a ring.

We’re on to the Dead Sea, beers being cracked the whole way there. Reza says people from all over the world come there to get healed. Asa asks Mike and Reza how last night was. Reza says they called MJ out, and tells Asa about the bastard child comment. Asa isn’t cool with that. They go to a restaurant and eat outside. In her interview, Asa says calling her baby a bastard child is f-ed up. Asa says that MJ is always taking jabs at her, and to use that word, no matter who you’re referring to, is ugly. MJ says that she was talking about herself. MJ says several of the friends asked about Asa getting married, and she avoided the question. She’s never met a pregnant woman so secretive, and every question is an attack. Mike says MJ is upset because Asa isn’t open and honest. Asa says she’s open about her age and weight, whereas MJ isn’t. Mike disagrees, saying that MJ is an open book, and everyone judges her. GG says weight isn’t a topic that’s very deep, and Reza says it’s awkward for him, since he’s friends with them both. GG wonders why be friends, if she doesn’t want to be open?. Asa says she doesn’t want to talk about certain things. Shervin asks if she took hormones to get pregnant, and Asa says she froze eggs years ago. MJ is shocked, wondering why she never said anything, and Asa says she doesn’t trust her. MJ says that Asa lied to her, and Asa says they froze 8 male embryos, but didn’t use them. They just started trying, and she’s shocked at how fast it happened. In his interview, Mike thinks it’s odd that she had a natural pregnancy that quickly at age 40. He’s not buying it.

Mike thinks if they can’t be open and honest, they shouldn’t be friends GG says they didn’t just come on the trip to unite Muslims and Jews, but each other. MJ wonders why Asa asked a million questions about her fertility process, but kept her own to herself. They go down to the sea. GG duct tapes her tattoo, so she can get in the water with the others. Asa stays in a chair on the beach. She feels emotionally poisoned, and doesn’t want to share, since she’s not feeling the love. Reza says that the Dead Sea is ten times saltier that any ocean, and everything floats immediately. It’s funny to watch how quickly people rise to the top. GG is grateful, saying everything is good right now. She gets salt water on the tattoo, and then it’s not so good. When they get back, Mike says that he has salt in all of his crevices.

Asa gets her neck massaged while she talks to Destiney. She’s not happy about some of the conversations. Tommy Facetimes MJ. She asks about her father, who is holding on, and he shows her one of the dogs. She says it’s not easy being so far away from her dad. They’ve been thick as thieves since she came out of the womb. Tommy puts Shams on, and says his grip is starting to feel strong. She says hello to him, and Tommy tells her not to cry; he’s good. After she hangs up, she gets a billion tissues and goes inside the shower cubicle. Mike asks if she wants a drink; he’s worried about her. Mike says his own father had told him that when he saw that Mike was okay, he’d be okay. He thinks Shams is holding on because he wants to see her happy. He tells her that Tommy is a good dude, and not to let her father’s illness to stop her from living her life. He says that Shams has lived a good life, and he should see her get married. MJ says that she has to make sure she propels herself forward and gets what Mike is saying.

The group strolls around the city, which is beautiful. They go to a restaurant where they have a private room. Reza says that the owners are a couple who decided to turn their home into a restaurant, and the food is off the chain. He tells us that Jews and Muslims don’t agree on much, but they agree on the food. It’s simple and delicious, and he’d like to go swimming in the hummus. MJ starts to make a toast, and Mike says what a great guy Tommy is, and tells her to step up or step out. He thinks she’ll lose him if she doesn’t marry him. MJ says she doesn’t mean to be unappreciative, but she has to be an activist for her father’s care. In her interview, Asa wonders if crying is MJ’s default mode for avoiding an issue. MJ says she’s dealing with a lot, but does it with pleasure. In his interview, Mike says Asa doesn’t look like she gives a flying. Mike says it’s amazing how they’re fighting for each other to achieve their goals, and be open and honest. They toast to the future.

Asa has an announcement. She found out the sex of the baby. She was waiting until the end of the trip, but now she feels alone and uncomfortable. Mike thinks she’s being insulting. Asa says there’s nothing she has to hide, and she’s not a liar. They’re welcoming a son. Reza says he called it. In her interview, MJ says that Asa got pregnant by a miracle, but happened to freeze male embryos and it’s a boy. She calls Asa a fraud. GG says she knew there was a penis in there somewhere. Mike asks about a name, but it hasn’t been decided.

Reza makes a toast, thanking everyone for sharing this journey. He grew up respecting and loving that side of his family, and talks about being with Mike’s family. He tells them about his grandmother having five sisters, and how he didn’t have that, but he gets it through them. Shervin says what Reza has gone through has made him who he is. He thanks Reza for helping them get over their fear. In his interview, Shervin he says he was scared because he looks Palestinian, but everyone was welcoming. Mike says he has gratitude for them overlooking their fears. It’s strengthened their roots. Now a massive tree can grow, and Israel has caused that to happen.

Next time, MJ thinks today might be the day, GG tells Shervin that MJ is criticizing him, and Reza calls out Shervin.

Beyond the Wall

I’ll tell you what’s beyond the Wall. Zombies. Lots of them. As Jon and his band of merry men found out on Game of Thrones tonight while on their field trip.

At Winterfell, Arya accused Sansa of having a hand in their father’s death, and showed her the note she’s swiped from Littlefinger. Sansa said she was forced to it, and was just a child. Arya told her she was a child too, but would have died first. Sansa told her that they got Winterfell back because of her, and yada-yada-yada about how much she’s suffered. She told Arya that sometimes anger makes people do unfortunate things, and Arya said fear does too, but she’ll stick with anger. I relate.

We found out that The Hound hates gingers, and I wondered wonder what Andy Cohen would have to say about that. Tormund learned what the word d*ck means, and professed his love for Brienne, and his desire to make monster babies with her. The Hound said she’d want to carve him up and eat his liver, and Tormund was like, oh, you know her. Beric told Jon that the trip wasn’t going to be any fun, like he didn’t know this already, but they’d accomplish a lot.

Dany told Tyrion he’s no hero, but she likes it that way. She knows he’s brave though, since she would never choose a coward as her Hand. Tyrion thought if they wanted to create a new and better world, mass murder and destruction wasn’t the way to go about it. He wanted to discuss who would succeed her one day, but Dany wasn’t having it until she’s sitting on the Iron Throne. Tyrion suggested she likes Jon, but she said he was too little for her, and then was like, oh, sorry.

Some guy in Jon’s group got grabbed by something and eaten right away, and this giant zombie bear thing came out of nowhere. It was not good. One of the guys set it on fire, causing The Hound to freeze. Thoros saved him, but got tossed around and mauled for his trouble. Jorah stabbed the bear thing, and made some magic to get Thoros moving again. When Beric asked if he was okay, Thoros was like, I just got bit by a dead bear, what do you think? Pointing out what a stupid question that was.

The real stupidity of the night was Sansa confiding in Littlefinger about Arya finding the note. Why Arya didn’t out him earlier for having it hidden, I’m not sure. Sansa told him that the people’s loyalty is to Jon, not her, and she’s already been married to two of their enemies. She has a point there. I just don’t understand why Sansa is trusting this dude.

Jon and his guys ambushed a group of White Walkers, made zombie brittle out of them, and kept one just in case they needed it later. Even The Hound was grossed out when he ripped the zombie’s face off, while trying to subdue it. When Jon realized a humongous zombie horde was coming, Gendry got sent back to Castle Black to send a raven to Dragonstone for help. Jon and company ran out in the middle of a frozen lake, not realizing it until it started cracking, but they had to keep moving because the horde was breathing – well, symbolically anyway – down their necks. Then in a very Z Nation type move, row by row of zombies fell through the ice and into the lake. Jon and the main characters of the scene made it to an rock formation, along with their captured zombie, with the remaining horde on the other side of the lake. Since winter is all over the place, Gendry ended up keeling over right in front of the Wall, but the Maester ran out, along with a bunch of other guys, and Gendry told him about sending the raven. Thoros ended up freezing to death, and Beric said blah-blah-blah about the Lord of Light, and they burned his body. Oh well. We learned that if you kill a White Walker, the others he’s taken to hell with him will go too.

Back at Winterfell, Sansa told Brienne to represent her at the Kings Landing summit. Brienne reminded Sansa of her oath, but Sansa said she’d by fine by herself.

There was a zombie free-for-all after The Hound threw rocks at one of them, and there were some amazing crane shots. Beric’s flaming sword was also impressive. I yelled, help him! at the TV when I was sure Tormund was a goner. The Hound came to the rescue. The guys fought the zombies, while the soundtrack got all quiet, like that scene in Snowpiercer when the Chris Evans and the tail section people battle those guys in the black masks.

Even though Tyrion had warned her to do nothing, Dany came flying in on Drogon’s back, wearing a snow queen type outfit, along with the other two dragons. There was dracarys all over the place, and then some. Dany parked, and the guys were trying to get on the Drogon, but only Jorah made it. While Jon was battling the zombies and Dany’s attention was elsewhere, that freaking, spiky-headed Night King started sneaking in on them. He threw that ice spear he carries, and hit Viserion. (I only know the name because I cheated and looked at another recap. I honestly can’t tell one dragon from another. Hey, at least I’m honest.)

Here’s where it turned into a real sh*t show. In my family room. This hideous creature killed Viserion. It was shocking and sickening and horrifying. And that was just my reaction. I burst into tears, jumped out of my chair, yelled at the TV, and my dogs thought I had gone out of my mind, my sensitive one running to comfort me. After this ruthless scene, Dany took off with Jorah and whoever the other dragon is, and Jon fell into the water. I was so freaked, I didn’t even know what happened to the others. Jon’s Uncle Benjen swooped in, like a white knight on a horse. He put Jon on the horse, but when Jon asked him to come, he said there wasn’t time. This perplexed me, because I wondered how much time it would take him to jump on, especially since he ended up getting eaten by the horde.

Next thing I knew, The Hound, Tormund, and Beric were back at the Wall. Tormund said see you later, but The Hound said probably not. Somehow, Benjen’s horse made it back to the Wall.

Sansa searched Arya’s room, and found her faces. Arya is still quiet as a cat though, and snuck up on her. Arya wanted to play a Westeros version of truth or dare, but Sansa didn’t want to, so Arya scared the crap out of her.

Once again, Jon came back to life after being pretty much frozen. He’s getting good at that resurrection thing. He awoke to Dany sitting at his bedside. He was absolutely precious, telling Dany how sorry he was, and how he wished they hadn’t gone. Dany was stoic though, saying that she needed to see it to believe it, but the dragons are the only children she’ll ever have, so she’s going to destroy the spike head king. Jon told her that he sees her for what she is, and he’d bend his knee, but can’t from a hospital bed. They held hands, and the entire viewing audience had the same thought.

Like a billion Jacob Marleys, the zombies drug Viserion  out of the ice water. Okay, I thought, maybe at least we’ll get a zombie dragon out of this. And yes, we will.

Next time, the season finale.

Best Quotes of the Night

Walking’s good; fighting’s better; f*cking’s best. – Tormund

Heroes do stupid things and they die. – Dany

This episode was brutal and exhausting. – Me

RIP Viserion

(and Dick Gregory and Jerry Lewis)