‘Lioness’ Season-Two-Premiere Recap, Episode One

‘Lioness’ Season-Two-Premiere Recap, Episode One

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Photo: Ryan Green/Paramount+

You wanted the best? You got the best! The hottest special-ops band in the land: Lioness! That’s right, folks: The world is a sunspot on one of Taylor Sheridan’s ranch-tanned, rippling biceps, and we’re just living in it. Hey, cool with me. The future was uncertain for this little Sheridan side project that could’ve been at the close after its first season. But with an apparently sizable audience on Paramount+ and the will to make it happen on the part of Sheridan, the exceptionally stacked cast, and everyone else involved, old Father Duty’s callin’ again for Joe (Zoe Saldaña) and the Lioness crew.

The last we saw of our ragtag CIA operatives, they’d successfully assassinated an Iranian-backed terrorist leader. Their lioness, Cruz Manuelos (Laysla De Oliveira), ended the mission alive but in spiritual tatters — unswayed by Joe’s reassurances that the operation saved lives. “All we did was change oil prices,” Cruz had said on her emotional way out of the Lioness program. As the search for her replacement kicks off in season two, the specter looming over the proceedings is how right she was.

As for the big question: Who’s the new lioness? We’ll get acquainted with her in the second episode of our two-episode premiere night. Our first episode is all about setting off the bloody inciting incident, reorienting us in the world and rules of the show, and some imperial dudes-rock, Sicario-style action for your trouble.

The cold open rips — and rips hard. A U.S. congresswoman is kidnapped by a cartel, and her family is murdered in their sleep. Joe is enjoying an impromptu breakfast at Waffle House with the family when she gets the news from the TV. Meanwhile, everyone’s favorite CIA fuckboy, Kyle (Thad Luckinbill), is swinging his dick around the crime scene, getting a lay of the land. At HQ in D.C., the usual suspects at the levers of power are gathering to plot the next moves. They’re back, folks. They’re all back: Byron Westfield (Michael Kelly), Mason (Jennifer Ehle) and Hollar (Bruce McGill), and Kaitlyn Meade (Nicole Kidman) — all riveting stars and standout character actors contributing their signature rhythms and verbal notes to the simmering espionage plan-making patter, all while Morgan Freeman as Secretary of State Mullins holds down the fort with some well-placed, occasionally F-bomb-accented mic-drop moments.

Joe arrives late to the meeting, just in time to get the crux of the debrief and her call to action. Conveniently, and somehow undetected even as she’s ripped from her house in the middle of the night, Congresswoman Hernandez (Czarina Mireles) kept a tracker on her, so they know she’s being held at a house in Ojinaga, just across the border. They want an extraction that’s messy enough to make a scene, but sending an official strike team across the southern border is against treaty protocols with Mexico. In a classic manifestation of what I like to call a “Dum Clancy” plot device, they justify the action by speculating that there has to be another major world power behind this abduction, and right now they figure it’s China. They are trying to move the global political board in a big way so they can invade Taiwan or something. Regardless, the threat of a geopolitical status quo knocking loose is established per the espionage genre’s wont. In the meantime, this gang of U.S. intelligence ghouls is aiming for a loud but successful extraction, followed by an “increased CIA presence in Mexico” — seek justice against this cartel and liquidate the potentially bigger threat behind it.

And they want a lioness on the ground. Joe’s unsurprisingly put out by the task of training a new lioness in weeks when months are required. They can eliminate the Los Tigres cartel leader, but intelligence-gathering isn’t part of their purview after that. Here’s where Freeman gets his first big shot of the season: “All right, after you kill the guy, could you be so kind as to grab his fucking phones and computers and anything else that might have some fucking intelligence?” C’mon, girl — even when we’re heisting some intel, we do it the cowboy way. You should know that. Kaitlyn chimes in: They can handle the job.

So the stage is set. Suit up, everyone; it’s time for the extraction — an extended, multipart, vaguely sepia-toned car chase–shoot-out in Mexico. Some serious “cowboy shit” organized by, of course, fucking Kyle. If hangin’ with the inglorious bastards of the Lioness crew was as core to your enjoyment of season one as it was mine, the delay in getting back with the team in full will prove a letdown here. But, hey — instead, we get the man, the myth, the legend in front of the camera. That’s right: Just when you thought Sheridan had stunted enough by writing the whole show himself (as he claims to have done with all 17,000 of his shows currently running) and directing the first two episodes of the season, our guy casts himself — in all his chiseled, hunky-leathery glory — as the titular “old soldier” Cody.

Joe knows Cody from way back, just as she knows all the guys from way back; such a guy’s gal, our Joe. Anyway, she’s not too sure about long-in-the-tooth Cody running point on this extraction, even in the company of his two wingmen, Tracer and Dean (what, are we about to play Overwatch here with these names?), which one can only take as extra assurances that Cody’s gonna badass the shit out of this mission. Indulgent as hell on Sheridan’s part, and seeing how I didn’t think we’d get another season of this madness to begin with, I’m 100 percent here for it. In for a penny, in for a pound and all that.

Once they’ve retrieved the missing congresswoman from an enemy vehicle and gotten her safely back on U.S. territory (via car-jump into an open river and one final Apocalypse Now “Ride of the Valkyries”–style blast of defensive gunfire from an air-support helicopter), Joe promises to personally carry out some extrajudicial retribution on Los Tigres. “Justice is a different agency,” she says. “My agency doesn’t do courtrooms.” A Clint-fucking-Eastwood badass line if I’ve ever heard one. And Saldaña delivers it with that familiar wired, short-fused muscularity, telling us Joe is ready to go all the way with this one.

Having sufficiently reamed Kyle for getting her team involved in some hyper-risky “cowboy shit” again (not sure what else she expected from this “ol’ spy Barbie,” as Cody calls him, seeing how his entire track record as an agent is setting up all-American carnage like this no matter where he gets called in, wound up, and set off), Joe steps away to call her sexy house husband Dr. Neal (Dave Annable) and two daughters. The turmoil that followed her family in her professional absence seems to have largely (and a little too conveniently) subsided since season one. So have her most pressing feelings of disconnect and occasional trauma-induced disinterest in family life, it seems. This bodes well for any of us who felt Joe’s family stuff was overwrought and at least partially unnecessary, getting us ready for a less melodramatic push-and-pull between the innocence of family and the looming corruption of the mission as the new season progresses.

As for the new lioness, hang on to your butts ’cause she’s comin’ in hot in the next episode!


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Lioness’ Season 2 Episode 1 Recap

Lioness’ Season 2 Episode 1 Recap

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This story contains spoilers for the season 2 premiere of Special Ops: Lioness.

I won’t lie to you, reader—I’m surprised that we’re back here. Special Ops: Lioness was one of Taylor Sheridan’s most unprecedented shows, for better or worse, and the Yellowstone creator’s motivations for writing it felt murkier every episode.

The series follows three women in the CIA’s “Lioness” program, which sends female operatives undercover into dangerous criminal organizations. As you might expect, Lioness ran the usual gamut of spy-show antics in season 1. The rookie agent fell in love with the enemy, lost her way, and needed her team to help her save the day. But Special Ops: Lioness often shared just as much pessimism for the all-female CIA program it highlighted as it had for the terrorists it depicted as the show’s enemy. Essentially, Special Ops: Lioness made everyone the villain.

As I wrote during the first season, “Life in Special Ops is pure hell. This isn’t an all-Beth Dutton army with kick-ass one-liners. (Could you imagine?) Lioness is a dark portrayal of how people wield power—and the violent ends are often women getting battered, bruised, tortured, or all of the above combined. Because of that, it’s often hard to know who the audience should be cheering on in Lioness—if we should be rooting for anyone at all.”

Knowing Sheridan’s track record 0f pumping out endless amounts of television, season 2 was inevitable. I initially thought that we would move on to another “Special Ops” team in an anthology-style series, but I was wrong. There’s a new mission ahead for the Lioness crew, even though all three of the main women were heavily disillusioned by their crusade in season 1. Rookie operative Cruz Manuelos (Laysla De Oliveria) was tortured and trained to kill. Lioness head Kaitlyn Meade (Nicole Kidman) learned that their business in the Middle East had more to do with money than the threat of terrorism, and lead officer Joe (Zoe Saldaña) was forced to convince herself that every awful thing she did was just.

“Look what you made of me,” Cruz tells Joe in the season 1 finale after she murders her target, billionaire Asmar Amrohi (Bassem Youssef). Joe reminds Cruz that she just eliminated “one of the worst fucking perpetrators of violence in the past 20 years,” even if the series did very little to justify those claims. “All we changed was oil prices,” Cruz replies. I never expected anyone to come back.

Paramount

Nicole, we need you.

So, imagine my surprise when season 2 opens with the Lioness team gearing up for another mission. A Texas congresswoman is kidnapped and moved across the border into Mexico. It’s now Kaitlyn’s job to answer the call and investigate. Kaitlyn’s husband, who explained that season 1’s plot was all about oil prices in the previous finale, tells her to “take a look at Mexican exports on [her] drive over, particularly oil.” I have a growing fear that season 2 might just repeat season 1.

Kaitlyn joins up with U.S. Secretary of State Edwin Mullins (Morgan Freeman) and CIA Deputy Director Byron Westfield (Michael Kelly). They discuss the details of the case and throw wild speculations in the air about the criminals and their potential ties to Russia and China. I can only imagine that the U.S. government let Sheridan sit on a real American military strategy meeting and that he wrote down what he heard word for word.

Kaitlyn: Russia?

Mullins: It does fit their covert ops strategy, but they don’t have the leverage.

Westfield: It’s China.

Mullins: We think that’s a likely possibility.

Westfield: A U.S. military operation on Mexican soil is a political disaster. The President’s own party will turn on him. The other side of the aisle? They will destroy him. Some form of Vietnam in this hemisphere shifts our focus from the East and it drains our resources even faster than Ukraine. China is Mexico’s number one trade partner in crude oil, natural gasses, as well as gold. So, any military response to this on Mexican soil renders our opposition to a move into Taiwan as both hypocritical to NATO and the U.N.. And with Russia chair of the security council? China has free rein of a Taiwanese invasion.

Um…what?!

Let me remind everyone that we’re just ten minutes into the premiere of Lioness season 2 and all that happened is that as a Texas congresswoman was kidnapped and taken into Mexico. From that alone, the CIA deputy director has somehow convinced the Secretary of State that not only is China involved in this scheme, but that it has global implications. He reckons that this chain of events is the only natural outcome:

1. China pressures Mexico to send a cartel to kidnap a Texas congresswoman and bring her to Mexico.

2. If the U.S. performs an operation on Mexican soil, it will weaken the country’s position with NATO and the UN, because the U.S. looks like hypocrites. (If they’re against China’s invasion of Taiwan.)

3. China invades Taiwan “with little to no consequences.”

I’m certain that the world doesn’t operate on this level of 4D chess, because China doesn’t need to come up with a scheme this far-fetched just to upset the global hierarchy. Russia invaded Ukraine in 2022, and they didn’t kickstart that campaign with a political Rube Goldberg machine. Still, this is our board game for season 2. And guess what? They want the Lioness team to handle it.

“A Lioness isn’t designed to gather intel,” Joe tells the boardroom. Secretary of State Morgan Freeman loads one in the chamber spits out this response: “After you kill the guy, could you be so kind as to grab his fucking phones and his computers?” End of meeting.

lioness season 2

Paramount

Morgan Freeman returns!

So, it’s wheels up for Joe. Christmas tree decorating will have to wait. She heads to Del Rio, Texas, to meet her new team. I kid you not, they’re led by Taylor Sheridan, AKA “Cody.” He’s shirtless and brandishing heavy artillery. When they run into early trouble, Sheridan takes out three guys by himself. He even writes himself some one-liners. “You know what they say, Joe, beware the old soldier. He’s old for a reason.”

Driving through Mexico, they immediately find the men holding the congresswoman hostage and kill them. Now, all Joe and her team must do is drive her back across the border. They find themselves in a car chase involving eight to ten police cars. For some reason, they kill all of them. I thought they were supposed to save the congresswoman in an undercover mission, but now there’s a dozen dead cops in Mexico. A helicopter shows up and rescues them all.

“Now, we play offense,” Joe tells the congresswoman. “My agency doesn’t do courtrooms.” Joe, I don’t know what your agency does. At least Cruz found her way out—and hopefully stays out.


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Agatha All Along Episode 6 Review

Agatha All Along Episode 6 Review

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This review contains full spoilers for Agatha All Along Season 1, Episode 6.

With last week’s not-so-shocking reveal that Joe Locke’s Teen is actually Billy Maximoff, son of the Scarlet Witch, it was on this followup episode to provide a logical explanation as to how that can be, what with Billy (and Tommy) disappearing into nothingness at the end of WandaVision. Episode six, titled “Familiar by Thy Side,” sticks the landing, offering new insight into Billy’s character and revealing his true motivations. Best of all, this episode feels the most focused since the premiere, largely because it’s squarely centered on one character instead of bouncing around between everyone in the coven.

It was great to see William Kaplan’s Bar Mitzvah given the importance of his Jewish identity in the comics. The party scene contained an excellent moment with Lilia (Patti Lupone), as she foreshadowed his fate and finally revealed it was she who placed the sigil on him. It’s not entirely clear why seeing his future prompted her to protect him from witches. Perhaps she sensed something else that went unsaid and placed it to protect him from what was to come. Hopefully we’ll learn the truth behind her actions in a future episode, assuming she didn’t drown to death in that goop.

Speaking of, it felt like a bit of a copout for Agatha (Kathryn Hahn) to just pull herself out of the muddy depths of the Witches’ Road, when it was initially made out to be so deadly. If she can do that then why didn’t Lilia and Jen (Sasheer Zamata)? Maybe they did and we just didn’t see it. But either way, making it so easy to get out really reduced the sense of danger on the road.

It was nice finally watching Billy and Agatha speak to each other with all of their cards on the table. Turns out the real Billy has quite the attitude and isn’t the goofy fanboy he made himself out to be. I’m unsatisfied with Agatha’s explanation as to how she knew his true identity. She said he has the same tell about his mother, but what’s the tell? What were the other clues that tipped her off? For a twist this pivotal, that definitely should have been explained.

Ultimately it’s a well-executed character study that brought together many of the show’s story threads in a cool way

There are a lot more nitpicky issues one could have with this episode (which I’ll list off later, just for fun), but ultimately it was a well-executed character study that brought together many of the show’s story threads in a cool way. William Kaplan dying in a car accident, only for Billy to take over his body moments later as the Hex dissipated, is such a tragic backstory. It was heart-wrenching watching Billy try to adjust to living in another person’s body, especially the moment when he practices saying “I’m William Kaplan” in the mirror. Learning about what happened to him, while also seeing how the witches of the coven were always a part of his life, made the show come together and feel more cohesive. Watching Billy piece it all together as Lorna Wu’s version of the ballad played gave me chills. Hats off to Joe Locke for showing us the full breadth of his acting ability, going from playing the shy William Kaplan to the moody Billy Kaplan who also got to show his comedic side while roleplaying The Mare of Easttown with Agatha.

The big unexpected surprise of this episode was the return of Evan Peters as Ralph Bohner. His presence in WandaVision never really made any sense, but I think this scene with Billy and boyfriend Eddie (Miles Gutierrez-Riley) redeems him somewhat. He’s become a paranoid mess (understandably) after being controlled by Wanda and Agatha, and the whole sequence was entertaining for how he bounced back and forth between comedy and despair. The revelation that he is the one who was forced to kill Sparky was a true shock, but I’m glad that the loose end from WandaVision was finally tied up. RIP Sparky.


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‘Georgie & Mandy’s First Marriage’ Premiere: Co-Creator On Episode 1

‘Georgie & Mandy’s First Marriage’ Premiere: Co-Creator On Episode 1

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SPOILER ALERT: This story contains details from the premiere of Georgie & Mandy’s First Marriage on CBS.

The Young Sheldon spinoff Georgie & Mandy’s First Marriage finally made its much-anticipated debut Thursday night and, naturally, we have questions about how Georgie (Montana Johnson) and Mandy (Emily Osment) are beginning their new lives in Texas.

Here, co-creator Steve Holland breaks down the premiere episode, titled “The 6:10 to Lubbock,” and among other things explains why he and the other EPs decided to have the stars perform a little ballroom in the title sequence.

DEADLINE: What was important for you to establish in this episode?

STEVE HOLLAND: It was important for us to re-establish the premise of the show and the situation by which Georgie and Mandy got together, and their living situation. It was a chance to spend time with these characters and hopefully remember why we love them.

DEADLINE: So basically, did this pick up days after the Young Sheldon finale?

HOLLAND: I would say probably a month or two after the finale. Obviously, George’s death is still lingers, but we didn’t want it to pick up right in the heavy aftermath of their grief.

DEADLINE: Why the tango in the title sequence?

HOLLAND: We wanted something that would be interesting and unique to the show. These days a lot of shows don’t even do title sequences, but we felt, especially in the Big Bang world, the title sequences have always been such a identifiable piece. When we were talking about the themes of the show, Steven Molaro, my co-creator, pitched the idea of the tango and it seemed surprising in a great way. It also seemed to really encapsulate the push-pull of this relationship. This relationship has a lot of love and passion, but they also have a lot of struggles and fights and the tango just seemed to really sum all that up. It’s also the last thing you expect to see when you’re watching this sitcom.

DEADLINE: How long did you know that you wanted to somehow address the concept of a live audience?

HOLLAND: That was pretty early on when we were breaking the story. I’m not sure if it’s ever happened before where a show has gone from single camera to a multi-camera spinoff. We knew there was going to be a moment where it was going to feel a little different to viewers. So we thought, why not just own it? Why pretend that we don’t know that this is a different thing and how it’s a slightly different format? Maybe there’s some fun in just coming out of the gate and saying, we know that this is a different kind of show and we’re excited about it.

DEADLINE: Why did you have them watching Frasier?

HOLLAND: For two reasons. It felt very identifiable for audiences. We felt like they would recognize it and get exactly what that is. It’s also a beloved multi-cam show, and that was important to us. It also sets the time on the show. It starts off in 1994. You immediately realize this is a bit of a period piece.

DEADLINE: As a reminder, how old are Georgie and Mandy now?

HOLLAND: Georgie is 19 and Mandy is 31.

DEADLINE: Seeing Mary and Meemaw was so cool. Is this a promise of what’s to come?

HOLLAND: Yeah. I mean we knew even when we were first talking about this show that it still took place in Medford and this was still his family. We love these actors and wanted to find ways to include them. So it always felt like they were going to be a part of the show. We’re in this lucky position on a first-season show. We have this A-list roster of superstars waiting on the bench to come in when we need them. And incredibly fun to put them in front of an audience.

(L-R) Montana Jordan as Georgie and Will Sasso as Jim

Troy Harvey / 2024 Warner Bros. Entertainment Inc.

DEADLINE: There wasn’t the obligatory “awwww” when Georgie got a hug from Will Sasso’s Jim McAllister. Did you edit out the studio audience during that moment?

HOLLAND: We’re trying to be conscious of tone. Sometimes audiences come to these shows and they’re very amped up, so sometimes those big laughs at home can seem jarring. We’re trying to tamper them down. But especially things like the awwws … they have never been a thing that we love. It feels like sometimes the audiences are doing it because they think they’re supposed to. They take you out of what is a very sweet moment. We didn’t edit them out, but we did do another pass and asked the audience not [to make a sound].

DEADLINE: How did you shake the set?

HOLLAND: It was incredible. They actually built it on these hydraulic gimbals. There were different degrees of shaking that they could turn up and down. Then it was finding the right level because sometimes the walls and the furniture didn’t always shake. It was amazing because [Jordan and Osment] really enjoyed having Zoe Perry and Annie Potts back, and Montana had never done multi-cam before this. So this was his first foray into that and he was just great. He came so prepared and so ready to do it. I don’t think he dropped a line in the whole pilot shoot.

DEADLINE: At one point we hear Georgie say that “genius runs in my family.” Are you possibly teasing that their baby is going to be a prodigy?

HOLLAND: That was more of a nod to Sheldon than teasing the future of the baby. Hopefully we’re on the air long enough to find out what happens to this baby in 10 years.


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Agatha All Along Episode 6 Recap: Billy Maximoff’s Mission Revealed

Agatha All Along Episode 6 Recap: Billy Maximoff’s Mission Revealed

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SPOILER ALERT: This piece contains spoilers for Episode 6 of Agatha All Along.

After the epic ending of Agatha All Along Episode 5 that revealed Teen’s true identity set to Billie Eilish’s “You Should See Me in a Crown,” Episode 6, titled “Familiar By Thy Side,” of the Marvel television series dove deeper into Teen’s past to make connections to how he got where he is today.

Teen was considered a Familiar, or amateur witch, until his blue powers crackled to life out of his anger at the death of Alice (Ali Ahn) in Episode 5 after Agatha siphoned off her powers in the trial testing Agatha.

The opening scene of Episode 6 shows Teen getting ready for synagogue donning a blue yarmulke, where he performs the rights for his bar mitzvah, or thirteenth birthday party that marks a boy’s transition into manhood. His parents (Paul Adelstein and Maria Dizzia) follow him down an aisle before he reads the Torah and chants.

He goes to get a palm reading from none other than Lilia Calderu in a tent at the party afterward. She predicted a “long journey” ahead of him, one of “transformation and…” The lights flicker in the tent as Lilia reveals, “Your lifeline is broken in two” after she sees the goth version of teen in her crystal ball.

Lilia said “The tower of reversed” before Billy brought her back to palm reading. “I just remembered something I think,” she said. Teen didn’t stay to get his palm reading finished. Lilia called him a “good egg” and told him to enjoy the “now” which is the only thing that’s certain. After Teen left, she sketched the mark that matches the sigil onto a block of wood and placed it in his suit coat pocket, which he left behind.

RELATED: ‘Agatha All Along’ Episode 4 Recap: Rio Vidal Joins the Coven As THE Green Witch

She exits the tent and gives the coat to a woman who looks like Agatha from the side profile, who is at the party for some reason, and she says she can’t remember which kid left it in her tent. Then, Billy’s father took the stage to say they heard “something was happening with the anomaly in Westview.” Phone alerts told people to go home, and the party was effectively dismantled. The Agatha-like figure might just have been Rebecca Kaplan, because she has Billy’s jacket as they flee the bar mitzvah.

As police raced toward the scene, Wanda’s voice could be heard over the radio airwaves. Billy pulls the wood block out of his coat pocket, looks at it and his parents get distracted by the hex shrinking. Billy calls them to attention as they veer away from a large pickup truck and swerve off the road into a tree. Billy is unconscious in the back seat, his parents alive still. His face is covered in blood.

He lies unconscious, and then the soul of Billy Maximoff seems to enter his body as he calls out “Tommy!” The cop that approaches the scene is Alice. Next, Billy is in an ambulance headed to the hospital with his parents, not remembering what happened.

RELATED: Aubrey Plaza Jokes Patti LuPone “Almost Killed” Her When She Was Sick While They Were Roommates

His hospital bracelet reads Kaplan, William. His dad calls him “Buddy” and he waits for Billy to point out that he doesn’t normally do that. It seems like Billy can read their minds because he hears their voices as they share a look. He tells them not to fight, but his dad says they aren’t.

His amnesia is supposed to subside soon. Armed with bouquets and get-well balloons, the parents walk him back into their house, and while he looks at photos on the wall, it seems he feels out of place. Then the dog Greg catches Billy by surprise and barks at him like he is a different person.

Billy yells at his parents to stop worrying because he can hear their thoughts again as they voice concerns about him in their inner monologues. “Maybe I just need to see my room,” he says to his mom, but she doesn’t say that out loud. He volunteers to go up alone.

Billy’s bedroom contains posters of Harry Houdini, Alice in Wonderland, The Wizard of Oz, and more. He stares at a photo of him with his parents in what looks like Hawaii. Then he looks in the mirror and says “My name is William Kaplan,” three times as if trying to convince himself.

RELATED: ‘Agatha All Along’ Brews Up Solid Premiere Audience As First Episode Nets 9.3M Views In 7 Days, Disney Says

Three years later, he sits in a car with a young man who looks to be his boyfriend (Miles Gutierrez-Riley), who grabs the sigil puzzle block and asks him what it is. The boy asks if Billy has solved it, but he says it’s impossible. Billy hears the guy thinking of saying “I love you” to him. He hints that something happens to him when he is around people who have intense feelings. He says he died the night of the car accident, and that he was different when he came back.

“I’m not William Kaplan, at least not entirely,” he tells him. He still doesn’t remember anything from before the accident. He wants him to know this and the true him because “I love you, too.”

“If you’re not William Kaplan, who are you?” Teen’s boyfriend asks. Teen takes the guy up to his room to look at photos, a dossier he compiled. The boyfriend says he thought the hex was some “Avengers training exercise gone wrong.” Jennifer Kale’s ad comes up as he looks for a video and shows the boyf the runes in the red haze of the hex, calling it a spell, witchcraft. Billy found a guy who used to live there who he was going to meet the next day.

RELATED: ‘Agatha All Along’ Primer: What To Remember Before Watching

The guy — @bohnerific69 — a creepy guy in a trenchcoat hiding in the shadows — suggested a low level of a parking garage, and he removed something from a security camera. Teen goes to confront the person, who is Ralph Bohner (Evan Peters), aka Wanda’s false brother Pietro from the hex. He tells him to call him Randall. He remembers Wanda’s hex, and when Billy says Wanda Maximoff, Ralph reacts angrily.

Billy hears his thoughts, worrying that he’s going to ask about Agatha Harkness. He then sprays witch repellent on them. “Mr. Bohnorific, I just want to talk!” He told them it would cost extra.

“Agatha hijacked my life,” he says, wielding an object that looks to maybe also ward off witches. “She called me her husband, but I was her puppet. She stole my house, completely ruined the market value. She made me do horrible things. I kept a woman hostage. I was a terrible influence on Wanda and Vision’s kids, and I poisoned a dog.”

“Woof,” Billy’s boyfriend says.

RELATED: Agatha All Along’ Release Schedule: When Do New Episodes Arrive?

Billy asks about Wanda’s kids, twins named Billy and Tommy as revealed by Bohnerific. Billy reacts to Tommy — “the little speedster and his mind-reading brother,” described by Bohner. When he asks what happened, Bohner says Wanda’s dead, Vision’s being sold for parts and the twins just disappeared. Bohner thinks the twins got sucked up into the red bubble like everything else.

This is when Billy learns that Agatha’s still in Westview under a spell. Billy thinks she’s harmless. “You seriously don’t know what kind of crazy that lady eats for breakfast,” Bohner says. He takes cash or offers half-off tickets for a show he is putting on, wanting to fill seats.

Billy’s father names his boyfriend Eddie, and Billy goes to his room “to do homework” instead of watching a psychological thriller movie like his mom offers. He listens to Lorna Wu’s version of the Ballad of the Witches Road on a record as he jots down notes about Wanda, Vision, Tommy and Billy Maximoff. He doodled the sigil on a sticky note surrounded by numbers and letters — starting with a 2, W, N and M if looked at counterclockwise from the top left corner. He circles his note that Agatha Harkness is still in Westview. A search for Agatha Harkness yields a “Did you mean Agatha Harper?” He finds her photo from googling witches who survived the Salem Witch Trials.

RELATED: Who Is Joe Locke’s Mysterious ‘Teen’ In ‘Agatha All Along’? All The Clues So Far

On a web page, she is described as the “only known survivor of “The Witches Road,” which he reads about in a book that says a witch may “discover what’s missing” at the end of the path. He looks at his note that Tommy Maximoff is missing, and everything clicks. He wants to look for his brother. The record twirling looks a lot like that in the trial of the fourth episode — Alice’s trial. As Lorna croons “I’ll see you at the end,” Billy drives to Westview. He looks up a release spell, which requires an important personal item as he sits by the ruins of Wanda’s old house. He stares up into Agatha’s house, realizing he needs to break in.

A text message from Eddie reads “You’re my ‘black heart emoji’,” echoing a potential Mephisto connection or some other easter egg as we’ve seen black hearts referenced a few times now in the show with Rio Vidal (Aubrey Plaza) and Sharon Davis (Debra Jo Rupp). Billy crawls through the upstairs window of Agatha’s house and looks through her closet and wardrobe for something personal. He pulls out her broach with the maiden, mother and crone on it, knocking over a lamp which brought Agatha upstairs.

The scene where she chases him replays, and he checks to see if she’s okay and begs her not to call the police because he can’t have a criminal record. He says he’ll stop if she stops. Then he runs into the open front door of Sharon Davis’ white Mercedes instead of getting hit by it. She calls him a “hooligan”.

(L-R) Agatha Harkness (Kathryn Hahn) and Teen (Joe Locke) in Marvel Television’s AGATHA ALL ALONG, exclusively on Disney+. Photo by Chuck Zlotnick. © 2024 MARVEL.

Back at her house, Agatha, still in detective mode, wears a Bohner Family Reunion T-shirt. She also has a pair of pliers in her pocket that she pretends is a gun. “I came here with an unorthodox spell to release you,” Teen tells her. “Can we maybe not with the physical violence?” as she hits him on the way to get him a glass of water. He plays along with her detective bit.

“I feel like you typecast me as the mouthy teen that didn’t kill the victim,” she said. This interrogation, which took place in her home, was what she envisioned as happening in the room at the police station, hence the painting on the wall between them. She completely made up Billy’s goth teen attitude. Then she puts the photos of flowers down on the table and he points them out to her as such. Then she looks at the painting, and he chants the release spell. Agatha duct tapes his wrists and mouth and throws him in the closet. Billy says that “power” is what I’m missing. He said the first time when she asked him who he was – “My name is William Kaplan.” And then she asks him to say again, he says “I’m Billy Maximoff.”

Back to the Witches’ Road, Agatha crawls out of the mud Billy previously sunk her into in Episode 5. The sludge is steaming and powerful. She wipes it from her face and finds Teen looking at the wooden sigil tile, crushing it in his hands, signifying that the spell is no longer needed. He no longer wears his blue crown.

RELATED: ‘Agatha All Along’ Recap: Teen’s Identity Is Revealed As The Coven Faces Another Trial

“That was quite a debut,” Agatha says. “Power is what I’m missing. Hardly.”

Billy asked her when she figured out his true identity. She says he and his mother have the very obvious tell. “I wasn’t sure sure until you *explosive magic imitation.* It’s nice to see you again, Billy.”

He says “Billy, William, you can hear me now” as Agatha looks to be tearing up. “Ah, Lilia and Jenn, what you did was … Life goes on.” She counts how many people she’s killed. “I’m not like you,” Billy says, to which she responds “Where have I heard that before?”

Agatha asks him how he came by the fresh body he’s wearing. “Don’t you dare feel guilty about your talent. You survived, like witches have been doing for centuries. You saw an empty vessel and moved in. So you broke the rules, that’s what kept you alive. That’s what makes you special, a witch.”

He acts like he doesn’t need her anymore on the road to finish the trials. “I don’t know if I ever did,” he says, but then he can’t cast his blue magic. Agatha laughs.

Teen (Joe Locke) in Marvel Television’s AGATHA ALL ALONG, exclusively on Disney+. Photo courtesy of Marvel Television. © 2024 MARVEL.

“What does Billy Maximoff want at the end of the road? Big magic is already in the bag,” Agatha says. “Is it find mama? No, she chose a town of strangers over her own flesh and blood. What about robo-papa? Who knows where he is and in how many pieces? Who’s left?” she speculates.

“You’re after Toby!” she says. “Tommy,” he corrects. “He’s out there, I can sense him.”

Billy tells Agatha he does not trust her, ever. And she says “Got it. Let’s go find the next trial. Last one there is a nice person.”

Billy says “I’m not that nice” before he follows her further down the road.

RELATED: ‘Agatha All Along’: Everything We Know So Far


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Agatha All Along Episode 5 Recap

Agatha All Along Episode 5 Recap

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SPOILER ALERT! This post contains details from Episode 5 of Agatha All Along.

Agatha Harkness and her coven are facing yet another trial on the Witches Road in the latest episode of Marvel’s Agatha All Along.

Remember, the witches discovered that Lorna Wu’s version of the ballad is actually a protection spell, which they used to escape Alice’s curse in Episode 4. Teen nearly died, but Jennifer manages to save him, and the episode ends with Agatha’s disappointment when Rio tells her that Teen isn’t her son. Here’s a recap of Episode 4.

Now, onward to Episode 5, titled “Darkest Hour, Wake Thy Power.”

The episode opens on an eery note, as the Salem Seven descend on the Witches Road. They’re whispering Agatha’s name, crawling through the leaf-covered ground along the winding road, when they come across an item that looks like a black stone on the ground.

As one of the witches brings it to their nose, the scene cuts to Lilia, who is asleep on the ground alongside the rest of the coven. It seems that she had a vision in her dream of the Seven hot on their trail.

“They’re coming. We have to go,” she warns, ominously, explaining that they’d left the door to the Road open after using the summoning spell to bring Rio to the Road.

Finally, we also get an explanation as to who the Salem Seven are. As Lilia explains, when Agatha killed her original coven (as shown in WandaVision), she spared their children. They became, as Rio so aptly describes, “a feral, hive-minded coven bent on revenge.”

RELATED: Aubrey Plaza Jokes Patti LuPone “Almost Killed” Her When She Was Sick While They Were Roommates

“The moral of the story, kids, is always finish what you started. Also, mercy is overrated,” Agatha says as she runs around the corner, clearly in a hurry to escape the Salem Seven again.

But, it’s too late to run. The Salem Seven are already surrounding them. And without their magic, they’ll need a practical means of escape. Teen suggests brooms, which the coven brushes off at first, but eventually gives into, considering they have no other options.

They hex a few roots from a tree and start the incantation in a hurry, as the Seven are literally on their tail, jumping on the “brooms” as they take flight. The only way to survive will be to get off the Road, so they take to the air.

But pretty quickly, the Road forces them back down to the ground as they reach the next trial. They run inside the cabin to escape the witches on their tail, and suddenly they’re all dressed in 80s-inspired attire. Luckily, it doesn’t seem the Salem Seven can get inside, so they’ll need to complete this next trial and be on their way before the Seven figure out how to get to them.

RELATED: ‘Agatha All Along’ Brews Up Solid Premiere Audience As First Episode Nets 9.3M Views In 7 Days, Disney Says

Rio says this is Agatha’s trial, given the blood moon outside, which indicates that the veil between the living and the dead is at its thinnest. The best person to commune with the dead is “someone who’s put so many in the grave,” Rio explains.

Just then, Teen finds a ouija board, and the clock starts ticking. They’ve got 30 minutes to figure this out.

After Teen reads the rules of the board, they begin. The spirit spells “MRSHART” — and before they’ve got time to process what that means, Agatha is possessed by Mrs. Hart. But wait, she’s not actually possessed, she’s just being typical Agatha, distracting everyone from her own fears and vulnerability. When the group calls her out, she sits down to try again and, this time, she needs to take things seriously.

So, who are they really talking to? “DEATH.” What does it want? “PUNISH.” Who? “AGATHA.”

Scared, the women pull their hands off the board, but it’s too late. Lights begin flickering, papers fly everywhere, and the board shoots off the table. Things settle down when Jen yells, “Punish Agatha!”

She thinks that’s the only way to get past the trial. Agatha tries to convince them otherwise, but her coven starts to agree that maybe, after everything she’s done, Agatha deserves to be punished. Teen is the only one who defend her. Unfortunately, “familiars don’t get a vote,” Jen says.

RELATED: ‘Agatha All Along’ Episode 1 Recap: Agatha Harkness Gets A Rude Awakening

The lights go out, and Agatha hides from the coven. As they’re circling the cabin looking for her, they hear heavy breathing. Teen looks up to discover a decrepit-looking Agatha perched on the ceiling. Her skin is grey and cracked, her hair is sticking every which way, and she’s got a feral air about her. She jumps down to the ground, her limbs cracking as they turn in unnatural ways. She’s possessed for real this time.

She goes after Jen, strangling her against the wall, when Lilia turns the lights on, making her disappear. Just then, a ghost appears. She identifies herself as Evanora Harkness of the Salemites. She’s Agatha’s mother, and she was possessing her daughter.

Ghosts typically have unfinished business, so the coven asks Evanora what she needs. She tells them they must finish the Witches Road without Agatha — the best, and really only, way to punish her. She wants the group to leave Agatha in the cabin with her. Rio tries to refuse, and a teary-eyed Agatha asks her mother: “Why do you hate me still?”

“You were born evil,” Evanora says. “I ought to have killed you the moment you left my body.”

Oof. Nobody knows what to say to that. Jen insists they need to leave the cabin and leave Agatha behind, but Agatha begins pleading with the coven to save her. That’s when Evanora possesses her again, moving to chase the other witches out of the cabin, but Alice has other ideas. She steps in and summons her powers, directing them toward Agatha and expelling Evanora from her body. And that’s when Agatha begins to siphon Alice’s powers.

RELATED: ‘Agatha All Along’ Episode 2 Recap: Down The Witches Road

The ouija board begins moving again, and Teen runs over, demanding to know which spirit is with them now. “NICHOLAS SCRATCH.” Agatha’s son. Just as time is running out on the clock, Agatha stops siphoning when she hears her young son’s voice pleading, “Mom. Stop.”

A new door opens, indicating they’ve passed the trial, but it appears to be too late for Alice. She has literally had the life sucked out of her. Everyone, even Teen, is now anti-Agatha. Teen pleads with Jen and Lilia to help save Alice, but they tell him it’s too late.

They leave the cabin, where Agatha summons her magic, secretly realizing she has her powers back. Teen confronts her, and Agatha insists that she couldn’t control the siphoning, but Teen doesn’t believe her. Meanwhile, Jen and Lilia have resigned to the fact that this was a power grab for all of them, and they can’t exactly be mad that Agatha took an opportunity to get her magic back.

RELATED: ‘Agatha All Along’ Episode 3 Recap: The Coven Encounters Its First Trial On The Witches Road

“So that’s what it means to be a witch? Killing people to serve your own agenda?” Teen asks, insisting, “Not for me.”

Agatha smirks, becoming quite callous as she whispers, “Are you sure? You’re so much like your mother.”

Looks like Agatha has figured out who Teen is. Or, at least she thinks she has. Agatha’s words anger Teen, whose own blue magic begins crackling from his fingertips. Jen and Lilia — whose eyes have turned blue, seemingly possessed by Teen — grab Agatha and throw her off the road, letting her sink into the mud that nearly took Mrs. Hart at the beginning of the Road.

He then sends Lilia and Jen flying off the Road as well, sinking into the ground. Cut back to Teen, who is now donning a crown that looks a lot like that of the Scarlet Witch aka Wanda Maximoff. Looks like we finally know his real identity.

RELATED: Who Is Joe Locke’s Mysterious ‘Teen’ In ‘Agatha All Along’? All The Clues So Far


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‘Abbott Elementary’ Recap: Season 4, Episode 1

‘Abbott Elementary’ Recap: Season 4, Episode 1

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Photo: Gilles Mingasson/Disney

Summer is firmly over, and few things ring in the transition into autumn like new episodes of Abbott Elementary. Coming off a strike-impacted third season that coincided with more buzz than ever surrounding the show, Abbott gifts us a solid premiere episode, signifying how ready the cast and crew are for the new season. The show is no longer television’s Rookie of the Year; Abbott is now established in the industry, and with a whopping 22-episode season, the writers and actors have room to breathe and really flesh out story lines in true sitcom fashion. We’re even getting a crossover with It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia, so it’s safe to say real television is back, baby.

Not much has changed in the halls of Abbott Elementary: Jacob still hates Mr. Morton, Ava avoids work at all costs (she declares that action is her least favorite thing to take), the teachers remind the kids how much better they are than New Jersey, and Janine shares stolen glances with Gregory over their students’ heads. However, these stolen glances are no longer of the will-they, won’t-they variety. Following last season’s finale, which culminated in a Janine-and-Gregory kiss, the pair have moved forward with their connection and are testing the waters romantically. Here is an example of the delicate yet exciting place Abbott finds itself in four seasons in; the choices made now will determine if it makes it through the gauntlet to legacy-sitcom status. I’m particularly interested in how Janine and Gregory move forward since fan reception to romantic relationships can be particularly precarious depending on which way the wind blows. Some fans were already sick of the will-they, won’t-they tension after a mere two seasons, while others, like myself, reveled in the tension. Now, we get to find out if this relationship is in it for the long haul, like The Office’s Jim and Pam, or merely a blip, like Parks and Recreation’s Ann and Andy. Or could this be a classic breakup-to-make-up situation, like New Girl’s Jess and Nick? There are many possible avenues, and watching it unfold in real time is what makes television so entertaining.

For now, we have no idea what Janine and Gregory’s future holds, which is perfectly fine because we get to have fun living in the moment of the early days of their romance. We get cute moments that play on their idiosyncracies, like Janine telling Gregory she would never take him somewhere without buttered noodles and Gregory uncharacteristically wearing Janine’s lipstick kiss on his cheek. They’re adorable as they try to play coy at work despite everyone already knowing the advancement in their relationship, with Ava considering the sneaking around an affront to their intelligence. Their co-workers have no problem humoring them, but once the students start to pick up on the vibes, Ava puts pressure on them to go public so she won’t get in trouble by bringing an HR representative (Warren, one of Janine’s opps from the district) to the school in hopes of forcing their hand. True to their personalities, Janine advocates for keeping things under wraps, while Gregory wants to come clean, noting there’s nothing professionally wrong with what they’re doing as long as they’re honest about it.

After Janine awkwardly avoids a conversation with Warren, Gregory begins to worry that she has cold feet regarding her feelings. Jacob assures him that Janine is deeply in “like” with him, so he shouldn’t have anything to worry about. So when Janine realizes she forgot her presentation for the back-to-school staff meeting (which is very important as she’s pitching a field trip to the aquarium, and “if the kids don’t go to the aquarium, they fail the SATs”), Gregory plays the perfect boyfriend and runs to her apartment to retrieve it during his free period. He barely makes it back in time before bursting into the meeting right as Janine runs out of stalling time and handing her back her keys. The staff starts grilling them with questions about their evident closeness, including coming to and from work together with their overnight duffel bags in tow, until they break under pressure — the pressure being Mr. Morton’s accusation that the duffel bags were being used to sell drugs. Janine blurts out that they’re having sex, officially letting the cat out of the bag.

Janine immediately tries to stuff the cat back in the bag, causing Gregory to initiate an honest conversation about why she wants to keep things private. She admits that she’s fearful because it wasn’t successful the last time she made something official (I can’t wait for Tariq’s first cameo of the season), and she really wants things to work out this time. Gregory pulls Janine into his arms, soothing her anxiety by reminding her that this time is different. They decide to come clean with HR, this time leaving out the sex portion, thankfully. Gregory and Janine finally sit down with Warren and Ava to spill the details of their coupling. Janine treats it like a therapy session, omitting anything about sex but oversharing to the point where she tries to bring the conversation to when she hit puberty in 11th grade, prompting a fantastic Tyler James Williams deadpan. Warren stops her there, saying all he needs to know is their current relationship status. For the first time, Janine and Gregory publicly declare that they are boyfriend and girlfriend. With everything on the table, Warren makes a record of the relationship, giving a backhanded blessing (I love this rivalry) and allowing them to move forward with the romance.

While Janine and Gregory formalize their relationship, the staff deals with the repercussions of a PGA golf course currently under construction a few blocks from Abbott, the first sign of which being a new white student that Ava mistakes for a Victorian-era ghost at the West Philly school. Apart from the influx of white people in the neighborhood eager to live near the course, the siphoning of resources that are necessary to build such a project immediately affects the school. A water pipe bursts, traffic is unbearable, the power is faulty, and the gas shuts off as construction ensues. Ava deflects complaints, claiming there’s nothing she can do since it’s a city-backed project.

When a student’s tooth falls out while they’re trying to chew a frozen chicken nugget since the cafeteria couldn’t heat them without gas, Melissa puts her connections to use to try and improve conditions. Her construction-worker cousin, Tommy, tells her that the golf course is cutting corners by using nonunion workers. She proposes to tattle to the city or have her cousin kill all their pets. Obviously, they choose the former. With word of Abbott’s discontent rumbling, an attorney representing the golf course makes an appearance at the school. He apologizes with the timbre of a politician, persuading them of the value the golf course will add before giving out gift cards, ergonomic chairs, and new computers. Then he promises that the workers will be unionized by the following week. I know when something feels too good to be true, and it seems as though Abbott has introduced a new villain.

• I love this “Jacob can’t read” conspiracy theory. I hope it becomes a running gag along with his hatred for Morton. Speaking of: Watching him take the beef to HR was hilarious, but Mr. Johnson accusing Melissa of flirting via lunch takeout menus takes the cake.

• I’m very biased, as I live next to one, but I’m happy Abbott Elementary is shedding light on how golf courses use an inordinate amount of resources.

• Finally, here are my favorite lines of the episode:

Ava on Janine and Gregory: “We know what two people look like when they’re hunching hard.” I never thought I would hear hunching on network TV, so thank you, Janelle James, for that amazing delivery.

Mr. Johnson after Janine admits that she’s having sex with Gregory — not that she’s a drug dealer: “This is even worse than I thought. What people won’t do for money.”

Barbara, squaring up to the golf-course lawyer: “Your little construction project has put quite a strain on our lives. We got a white child now. You wanna get his parents involved?”

Ava when Warren says she can’t sell jewelry the students make on Etsy because of child-labor laws: “Is it really work if they love what they do?”


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‘Dancing With The Stars’ Episode 3 Scores—Which Couples Could Go Home On Tuesday?

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Dancing with the Stars returned with a new episode on Monday, October 7, following last week’s hiatus. The episode’s theme was Soul Train night, and the 11 remaining couples danced to classics from “Dancing Machine” by Jackson 5 to “Think” by Aretha Franklin.

Tori Spelling and Pasha Pashkov, along with Anna Delvey and Ezra Sosa, were the first pairs to be eliminated from the competition in Week 3. Delvey faced criticism after she stated on live television that she would take away “nothing” from her time on the show.

Longtime judge Carrie Ann Inaba told Entertainment Weekly that she was taken aback by Delvey’s comment. “That was dismissive not only of the opportunity she was given, of her wonderful and supportive partner Ezra in his debut season, but also of all of us who work on the show-from the dancers to behind the scenes to the creative team,” she said.

ForbesWhen Is ‘Dancing With The Stars’ On This Week? The Themes, Songs, And Dances For Week 3By Monica Mercuri

With Delvey no longer in the mix, Dancing With the Stars returned on Monday with less drama but plenty of steamy romance—particularly between model Brooks Nader and her pro partner Gleb Savchenko, who were photographed kissing in Beverly Hills last week.

Soul Train night kicked off with an opening number to “T.S.O.P (The Sound of Philadelphia)” by MFSB featuring The Three Degrees, choreographed by Luam, and featuring guest dancer and “Soul Train” alum Popin’ Pete of The Electric Boogaloos. Rosie Perez, who got her start as a dancer on “Soul Train,” was a special guest judge.

Keep reading for the Dancing With the Stars Episode 3 scores and what the judges thought about each dance.

What Were The Dancing With the Stars Episode 3 Scores?

Phaedra Parks And Val Chmerkovskiy

Score: 30 (8, 8, 7, 7)

Phaedra Parks and Val Chmerkovskiy performed a quickstep to “Think” by Aretha Franklin. The judges praised the routine, with Derek calling it “fantastic” and Carrie Ann describing it as “wonderful.” While they noted some footwork issues, they were overall impressed, with the scores split between sevens and eights.

Ilona Maher And Alan Bersten

Score: 30 (8, 8, 7, 7)

Ilona Maher and Alan Bersten performed a Foxtrot to “Lady Marmalade” by LaBelle. Bruno applauded it as a “proper foxtrot,” while Carrie Ann and Derek noted her improvement, calling the performance beautiful and elegant. Rosie also complimented her, saying she did a wonderful job. The judges awarded sevens and eights for the routine.

Eric Roberts And Britt Stewart

Score: 24 (7, 6, 5, 6)

Eric Roberts and Britt Stewart performed a Foxtrot to Al Green’s “Let’s Stay Together,” which Roberts dedicated to his wife. The judges were touched by the emotional performance and recognized his improvement, though they pointed out a few technical issues. Scores ranged from five to seven.

Stephen Nedoroscik And Rylee Arnold

Score: 30 (8, 8, 7, 7)

Stephen Nedoroscik and Rylee Arnold performed a quickstep to “Superstition” by Stevie Wonder. Derek loved the energy and tricks but noted issues with Stephen’s frame. Bruno and Carrie Ann urged him to work on his timing, as he tended to get ahead of the beat. After all the critiques, the judges ultimately gave the pair eights and sevens.

Brooks Nader And Gleb Savchencko

Score: 28 (7, 7, 7, 7)

Brooks Nader and Gleb Savchencko performed a rumba to “Sexual Healing” by Marvin Gaye. “That dance made me pregnant,” Hough jokingly said before calling it a beautiful rumba—although he wanted more moves at the beginning. Bruno admired her “brilliant” shapes and lines, while Carrie Ann suggested improving her transitions but believed she has the potential to go far in the competition. The pair were consistently awarded sevens across the board.

Joey Graziadei And Jenna Johnson

Score: 34 (9, 9, 8, 8)

Joey Graziadei And Jenna Johnson performed a jive to “Shout” by The Isley Brothers. Bruno praised Joey’s musicality, noting that he never missed a beat. “That was amazing; you are so talented,” Carrie Ann added. Rosie remarked that Joey knew how to boogie, while Derek appreciated how content-packed the routine was. They earned the first nines of the season along with two eights.

ForbesHere’s How To Vote This Season Of ‘Dancing With The Stars’By Monica Mercuri

Dwight Howard And Daniella Karagach

Score: 23 (6, 6, 5, 6)

Dwight Howard and Daniella Karagach performed a cha cha to “Let’s Groove” by Earth, Wind & Fire. The judges were concerned by Dwight’s performance, likely due to the couple’s limited rehearsal time. “That was hard to watch. I know you can do better than that,” Carrie Ann said. Rosie added that he needs to work a little harder, while Bruno said that he needs to improve his technique. For their scores, they earned three sixes and one five.

Danny Amendola And Witney Carson

Score: 30 (8, 8, 7, 7)

Danny Amendola and Witney Carson performed a foxtrot to “Dancing Machine” by Jackson 5. The judges described the performance as “so good.” Derek emphasized how much he loved seeing Danny’s performance quality and added that he sees him improving each week. Meanwhile, Bruno suggested that Danny work on becoming more lyrical. The couple received scores of sevens and eights.

Reginald VelJohnson And Emma Slater

Score: 21 (6, 5, 5, 5)

Reginald VelJohnson and Emma Slater performed a foxtrot to “I Can See Clearly Now” by Johnny Nash. “Your smile lights up this room,” said Derek. “Your personality shines,” added Bruno. With tears in her eyes, Carrie Ann noted that there’s something so sweet and innocent about his dancing and that she wishes she could give him all 10s.

Jenn Tran And Sasha Farber

Score: 31 (8, 8, 7, 8)

Jenn Tran and Sasha Farber performed a Viennese waltz to “Fallin’” by Alicia Keys. The judges unanimously agreed it was one of the sexiest Viennese waltzes they had ever seen. Rosie loved the performance, while Derek was thrilled to see that his comment from last week about improving her frame made a difference. The couple received their first eights of the season and one seven.

Chandler Kinney And Brandon Armstrong

Score: 36 (9, 9, 9, 9)

Chandler Kinney and Brandon Armstrong performed a cha cha to “It’s Tricky” by Run-DMC. All the judges absolutely loved their performance; Carrie Ann said it was an “amazing partnership” compared to last week, while Rosie added that their routine personified the feeling of soul and Soul Train. Derek appreciated the fusion of cha-cha and soul, and Bruno called out Chandler’s huge star quality.

Who Was Eliminated In Dancing With The Stars Episode 3?

No one was eliminated on Monday, October 7, in the episode of Dancing With the Stars, which was pre-taped last week due to the Vice Presidential debate on October 1. Instead, the scores from Monday’s episode will carry over to Tuesday, where two couples will be eliminated during the live show.

As for which pairs could be going home tomorrow, the contestants most at risk for elimination are Reginald VelJohnson and Emma Slater (21 points), Dwight Howard and Daniella Karagach (23 points), and Eric Roberts and Britt Stewart (24 points).

Fortunately, the couples can redeem themselves tomorrow by improving their scores and receiving enough votes from the public. Make sure to vote for your favorites before the final competitive dance during the ET/CT simulcast.

Dancing With the Stars airs on ABC and Disney+. Episodes are available to stream the next day on Hulu and ABC.com.


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‘Nobody Wants This’ Recap, Season 1, Episode 5

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Listen, I’m all for Joanne and Noah having to face the disdain of youths at camp — a true test for any budding relationship — but the contrivances made to get those two into that situation are ridiculous. In what world would the woman who has repeatedly made sure people understand that her podcast is important and deep and empowering, the woman who has vehemently disagreed with her sister’s interpretation of what they do, the woman who has placed all of her career eggs in one basket and might finally see it pay off, blow off what is possibly the biggest meeting of her life to go away with her new boyfriend? And, like, not even a good away! To a Jewish camp in Ojai full of teenagers where her boyfriend has to work and there aren’t even plush bathrobes? It’s not like they booked some lavish vacation they can’t reschedule. You can reschedule this! Sure, Joanne comes to the conclusion that she is being cuckoo for coconuts here eventually, but it takes way too long to be believable. And it’s not just Joanne, either. Both she and Noah make some choices in “My Friend Joanne” that feel out of step with their characters thus far.

What Nobody Wants This wants us to believe is that Joanne is so wrapped up in this honeymoon phase of her relationship that she doesn’t mind bailing on work. Sure, she and Noah are very cute in the little montage we get of them at the top of the episode in which they cannot seem to get out of bed or remove their lips from one another. I would, admittedly, watch an entire 30 minutes of this. And yes, we’ve established that Joanne can become obsessive, but wouldn’t she also be obsessive about her work? They still haven’t closed the deal with Spotify, so when Ashley reiterates how important this meeting is, even if the two execs are lower level, you’d think Joanne, someone who Morgan says never lets her bail on work, would focus on the big picture. At the very least, Morgan being so adamant that she wants to do this on her own might give Joanne pause; she has shown us she has very little faith in her sister, especially when it comes to work.

There are so many questions related to this that boggle the mind: why doesn’t Ashley fight harder for Joanne to make this a priority? Can’t she both go to camp and come back for dinner? Drive two cars! And why does not one person bring up that their romantic weekend away got changed to youth camp because it was important for Noah’s job? Where’s your female empowerment now, Joanne?! Characters are allowed to make bad choices, but at least let those bad choices have some internal logic. Nevertheless, there are a few great moments at Camp Haverim. The whole reason Noah was cool with bringing Joanne along while he filled in for his boss, Rabbi Cohen, was because no one remotely related to his temple would be there, so he and Joanne could freely walk around without him worrying if word would spread as to who he’s dating. This doesn’t stop him from introducing Joanne as his “friend” when his old camp counselor, Rabbi Shira (a great Leslie Grossman — seriously, the casting on this show is so good), appears. Shira couldn’t care less and she and Joanne actually seem to hit it off. While the “friend” moniker doesn’t seem to bother Joanne much at first glance, when a whole gaggle of teenage girls — teenage girls who refer to Noah as Hot Rabbi because they know what’s up — make it crystal clear that even they can see Noah is trying to hide her, it plants a seed.

Noah spends a lot of time recounting his glory days as the camp stud around here. Sure, he was super into Beanie Babies, but he also landed a girlfriend by the end of every summer, which was of the utmost importance. Joanne is lapping it up. When Morgan calls to tell her that now the director of the podcast department — the top guy — will be at this meeting but it’ll be totally cool and fine, Joanne is panicked enough to write up some additional notes for her sister but not panicked enough to head home to ensure the future of her career is safe. Again, they literally could go on a much nicer weekend getaway next weekend. Why torture yourself?!

Things go downhill from there: Just as Noah is gathering up some food for a romantic picnic, Rabbi Cohen appears; his schedule changed and he thought he’d come up to see Noah’s Torah study. Noah gets real weird real fast, and as he’s closing the curtains, trying to sell the idea of an indoor picnic, and explaining that Rabbi Cohen holds the future of Noah’s career in his hands, it doesn’t take too long for Joanne to realize that it would be a problem for Rabbi Cohen to see her and Noah together because she’s not Jewish.

With a bagel in each hand, Joanne resumes her favorite pastime of emotionally spiraling. She runs into Rabbi Shira, who’s making Shabbat candles for that evening and can see this woman is going through it. Shira is so calming and very cool. More of her, please. And yet it’s actually the mean gaggle of teen girls that put a few things into perspective for her while she makes her own candles. “Joanne’s like 50 and she’s being a pick-me girl,” says one, noting that when she’s middle-aged she wants to be “empowered and confident,” not sad and pathetic like Joanne. And then Joanne finally remembers that “empowered and confident” is supposed to be her “whole brand.” “Wow, you girls harshly judging me really helped,” she tells them before she heads home to take care of business.

The first thing Joanne notices when she rolls up to the big Spotify meeting is that it’s going extremely well. Morgan is crushing it. And of course she is — she got valuable advice from none other than Sasha (he had to let her into Noah’s place to grab Joanne’s computer). Sasha informed Morgan, who talked a big game to her sister but is surprisingly open with Sasha about being nervous, that a hostage negotiator — not a typo — once taught him the “mirroring” technique, in which you repeat the last few words of whatever the person you’re speaking with said to you as if they’re really smart or interesting and it keeps that person talking. It works! It works with Sasha, who doesn’t even realize Morgan’s using it on him for a while, and it works with the Spotify execs. Sasha does mention one other rather perceptive thing to Morgan: He refers to the two of them as “the loser siblings.” Morgan denies it, but something tells me it actually cuts to her core. Sasha is as confused as she is about how that happened with her since Morgan is “a smokeshow” with a “hot Mother Earth vibe,” and Joanne is way too short, but he can tell it’s the truth, and he gets it. I love this budding weirdo friendship.

Back at the meeting, Joanne realizes she has nothing to worry about with Morgan, and she (poorly) attempts to apologize in a subtle way. It leads to the two of them bickering, but it’s Morgan who pulls the squabble back and uses it as more evidence of why their podcast works so well. Then there’s one other distraction: Noah shows up.

Can you believe this man? Okay, this is supposed to be very swoony and romantic, but I’m sorry, this is outrageous. The mean teens at camp are the ones who inform Noah that Joanne left because he’s sus and “treating her like a slam piece,” and she obviously doesn’t want to be his friend; she wants to be his girlfriend. “Are all guys medically stupid?” one of them asks. I worship her now. This tear-down is paired with a very lovely conversation with Shira. Noah fills her in on the whole situation and wonders if he could ever be promoted to head rabbi if he were with a non-Jew. She thinks he’s asking the wrong question; instead, he should be asking how Joanne makes him feel. “Honestly, I’ve never felt like this in my entire life,” he says, and admittedly, I did put my hand on my heart. Well, there’s his answer. You don’t give up on something great just because it’s difficult, she tells him, reminding him that nothing is set in stone, and sure, “change is a process” — and maybe one of them changes, or maybe both wind up changing to make it work, but you don’t give up. It’s a great speech, and I understand Noah’s impetus to find Joanne and apologize for treating her the way he did as soon as possible, but … could he not have waited until after her super-important meeting?

Their love is real, I am 100 percent onboard, I cherish it and even I was like, Oh no, sir, please don’t when he interrupts this big dinner. He’s the one who keeps telling her this job is important! He saw how stressed she was about it! Ahhhh! These people are outside of their minds in this episode. It feels very much like something Noah would not do. He’s the kind, considerate one.

Anyway, he does it. And yes, sure, he is romantic as hell here. He doesn’t want to lose her. When she tells him how hurt she was when he called her a friend in front of the teens whose opinion she cares about most, as she puts it, he agrees, “That was sus.” And when she tells him she’s mostly disappointed that all of this means she missed her first Shabbat, he sets up a little makeshift version of the ceremony, a pop-up Shabbat, if you will. And then, like any good camper, he asks Joanne if she would like to be his girlfriend. Yes, okay, he is very cute when he yells out, “She said yes!” I want to be mad at him, but I just can’t do it for very long. Is this how Joanne feels? It’s exhausting!


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