Weekend Stuff

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Closer to finishing the guest bedroom fix
Almost there. Purchased a new light/sconce to have next to the daybed/only bed and a new bench seat that can double for storage. After that it's down to finding a way a rid myself of a spare chair, working on artwork, and hanging the mirror that I bought several weeks ago. Still, it's almost there!

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Got my white cords
Finally got the white cords that I wanted a few weeks ago. The local Talbot's got them in, they went on sale, and I got a 10% membership rewards coupon, so Sunday I got the cords that I had originally wanted.

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Watched "Promised Land" with Matt Damon
Not a lot to say. Pretty good movie. Low key. Worth watching but not sorry that I didn't bother to see it in the movie theater.

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Got the puppy groomed
Took puppy to be groomed on Friday. Not her favorite activity, but they did a reasonably good job. I know why they shaved her tushie close, she HATES being brushed near her tail, which is why it was the most tangled area of her fur. I figure it was easier to shave her than to brush her knots there, so her tushie is a bit close, but other than that they didn't go too close, and she looked pretty adorable (though thrilled to be picked up from the groomer).

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Watched Once Upon A Time
Liked the episode. The girl they cast as Ariel/Little Mermaid looked a great deal like Amy Adams. Liked that they outed so many secrets this week, too. That said, I hated going to TWOP and reading reactions to the episode. I need to follow my own rule and only go to TWOP for shows I hate, because they are just so hypercritical that they suck the joy out of anything.

Look, Once is VERY flawed, but jeebus. People, you DO get that that this is a family show run by Disney, correct? The "dark secrets" really are not going to be twisty 'dark' or anything but PG-13 (Duh!) Get over it. That's just the way this show is going to roll.

Yes, it's going to favor 'redemption' and good winning out in the end (either in the good vs. evil as external battle or as far as internal moral struggles go...so get used to redemption stories too! Yes, I'm going to call right now that by the end of the series Hook, Regina, and Rumple will ALL be redeemed. If the concept horrifies you, too bad. It's clear as day that that's the intended end game. Go ahead and pencil in a LOST "happy ending for everyone" because that's what it's going to be (though, like LOST, it may require a couple of deaths.) And perhaps -- just PERHAPS -- some of you posters have entered into irrational level of hatred for Neal/Bae.

Seriously, I understand some of the criticism. What Neal did when he left Emma was... awful. But, get a grip and in touch with the story that the show is trying to tell. The STORY does not have the irrational hate of Neal/Bae that many of TWOP posters have. I'm not a big shipper on the show. I'm happy enough to play along with all their "true love" scenarios. And, as far as the currently central love triangle goes... I honestly don't actually have a particular preference in the Hook/Emma/Neal triangle. I still have "House" hangover for the actress playing Emma (and thus try to shake finding her a tad bit cold). And while I like Hook and Neal, I've never been overwhelmed by the chemistry of either pairings. They're both... good enough. I'm happy enough just to watch the story, so in the end I just don't have a horse in this race. Still, there are people who behave as though Neal killed puppies, kittens, made unicorns cry, beat Emma relentlessly and sold her into human trafficking (I know she wound up in prison but...erm... she actually was a theif, y'know). Bae screwed up. BIG. He hurt Emma (and Henry), and he knows this, acknowledges this, and what exactly do people want from him? He's trying.

By the same token, the folks screaming foul over Hook Redemption... er... other than the fact that he is Captain Hook (a DISNEYFIED pirate), what exactly has he done that demands a very great deal of redemption? Hooking up with Rumplestilskin's estranged wife? Having his hand chopped off after watching Rumple murder the woman for having left him? Errr.... this is something RUMPLE needs to be redeemed for. Rumple murdered a woman because she left him. That is roughly eleventy-million times worse than hooking up with a woman who left her husband. (Not that Rumple's wife doesn't deserve criticism for having abandoned her son. My whole problem with the Milah back story is that this woman abandoned her child in a way that was never adequately explained...but still didn't deserve a death sentence.)

So what was Hook's HUGE crime that should make right-thinking people resist his redemption? I really don't remember. Was it wanting vengeance against Rumple? Well, for starters, he watched Rumple murder someone he cared about and for follow-up, he's seemed to recognize that vengeance won't accomplish very much. Oh, and Hook once pushed Belle through a spell barrier so that she got amnesia. I'm not sure that Hook wasn't doing her a favor. Seriously, Belle has issues. She doesn't deal with Rumpy in a way any rational person would, and Hook breaking up Rumple/Belle doesn't seem like a such huge crime through Hook's eyes since, remember, Hook watched RUMPLE MURDER HIS WIFE! (Come on, Belle, most people would think that a guy murdering his first wife for leaving him might at least be a caution flag in a relationship.)

Anyway, on a list of crimes we've seen characters commit, Capt. Hook is really... not so very bad. He's mostly made some quips and snark, he's flirted with Emma, and was a not-too-invested minion of Cora's for a brief stint. All in all, his transgressions are relatively small, and yet it seems that there are just some people constitutionally opposed to redemption stories. Because Hook? Never all that bad in the first place.

Still, even the 'hate a redemption plot no matter who it is attached to' haters appear to be a minority when compared to the vocal OTT hatred of Bae/Neal. Seriously, people, get over it. It's a PG triangle. No one involved in it is perfect... nor all that bad. And, yes, the resolution WILL favor the option of giving Henry a happy family in the end because -- again -- this is a DISNEY show. It's aimed for a FAMILY audience. These characters are going to be nice about this in the end. Prepare for it.

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New Sleepy Hollow tonight. Whee! (That preview clip of Ichabod and Abbie at the baseball game is adorbs!)

The Secret to Sleepy Hollow's Success...

From TVGuide.com:

The Secret to Sleepy Hollow's Success Is Abbie Mills

Everyone seems to have a theory for why Sleepy Hollow became the breakout hit of the season, but no one seems to give credit to the show's best asset: Lt. Abbie Mills (Nicole Behari).

Sleepy Hollow is totally insane — Ichabod Crane wakes up in 2013 only to discover that he and a local policewoman are destined to stop the apocalypse — but the show works. And as the viewer's entry point into this world, a lot of this success is dependent on Abbie's ability to make the crazy feel real. Otherwise, Sleepy Hollow would be as cheesy as the premise seemed. But right from the start, Abbie proved herself as a relatable and capable narrator, treating the supernatural with a realistic hesitation and irreverence without allowing herself to be pigeonholed into the role of "The Skeptic."

Though Sleepy Hollow has a female lead, in truth, her gender is a non-issue within the series. Not only does Abbie stay away from the typical television Working Woman uniform (unrealistically tailored clothes, perfectly coifed hair and red carpet ready makeup), but Sleepy Hollow never turns her gender into plot fodder. No one underestimates Abbie's abilities as a cop because she's a 5'1" black woman instead of a 6' white man. In fact, Abbie is one of the few people Chief Irving (Orlando Jones) seems to have any real faith in. And though fans already passionately 'ship the pair, Abbie's working relationship with Ichabod (Tom Mison) isn't motivated by romance. She's just there to get the job done.

"One of the things when reading the pilot that made it appeal to me so much was that you have female leads who aren't defined by a man," Mison explained. "You don't see it enough. All too often ... the women are the girlfriend or the daughter and they have very little to do other than support the male characters' stories. This, from the start and throughout, the female characters have been rounded and clear and individual."

The platonic nature of Abbie and Ichabod's partnership has given it a delightful Doctor Who vibe. But whereas the Doctor's companions provide support when the Doctor saves the day, Abbie doesn't have it in her to be The Girl Who Waited. "I love that all these women in the show are an integral part of saving the world," Beharie told reporters at New York Comic Con. "That they're not just there [as] a piece to sort of move the story on and they're not just batting eyelashes. They're helping to make the thing happen, if not making the thing happen. If you look at all the episodes, I threw the book, OK?" she said referencing Abbie's day-saving decision to throw the Lesser Key of Solomon into the fire in Episode 4. "I threw the book, I saved the guy."

Right from the pilot, Abbie was presented as fully realized hero -- vulnerable, strong and rational -- a pleasantly shocking change of pace compared to the often reductive women of network TV. More often than not, female characters — particularly characters of color — who prefer focusing on work rather than romance are depicted as harsh, unforgiving and emotionless. Yet Abbie has avoided becoming yet another Strong Black Woman stereotype and instead is just a strong character who happens to be a black woman.

This has earned Abbie comparisons with Scandal's Olivia Pope (Kerry Washington), who seems to have become the new face of strong female characters. Yet while Olivia continues to be idolized for her every blink, she constantly falls victim to her own feelings like a lovestruck teenager, putting her career, her friendships and even lives in jeopardy all for Fitz (Tony Goldwyn). So while their ongoing affair makes for highly entertaining TV, it also stops Olivia from being the role model many believe her to be. Abbie, on the other hand, provides an interesting alternative to Olivia, reminding viewers that woman can have successful careers and emotions, without having to sacrifice ethics, happiness and sense of personal worth.

However, what both Olivia and Abbie prove is that viewers crave diversity. Outdated race and gender stereotypes, while they still make work for Dads fans, aren't cutting it for many modern viewers. And delightfully, Abbie isn't the only person of color on Sleepy Hollow, nor is she even the only applaudable strong female character. Ichabod's wife Katrina, though trapped in Purgatory, remains far more powerful than her mortal husband. And when Ichabod is kidnapped this week, it will be up to Abbie and Katrina to save him -- and the entire town — before the Headless Horseman descends upon Sleepy Hollow.

While we'll obviously miss watching Ichabod and Abbie's odd couple dynamic play out this week, it's about time she gest her due as Sleepy Hollow's true hero.

Sleepy Hollow airs at 9/8c on Fox