L i N d $ @ y

I'm glad we finally got a flashback ep. The Stones are amazing. I get the impression that everyone was happy before the disappearance. Ben & Grace have mostly been getting busy with Cal. It makes sense for Grace to meet Danny at group therapy but I didn't see, or at least that flashback didn't exactly show me how Danny is fond of Olive? But with the absence of her real father, I can understand why Olive leaned onto Danny. I also get the impression that Lourdes has a crush on Jared and everything fell into place for her when Michaela disappeared.

My favorite part of this ep is Cal. OMG that ending. There's really something different/special about him. His 'ability' is very different from the others. What is connected? He just knew where to find Thomas. I feel bad that Bethany got arrested. I'm really hating on Vance/NSA right now.

Also major props to Ben for being father of the year. He's always trying to reach out and bond with his children. Ben's giving Jack Pearson (This Is Us) a run for his money.

wickedrum

that in itself should be enough for the mother to decide for the route that it's best for the child. That's what most parents would do I think, regardless of their feelings for their partners. You know, as long as there's no abuse and the such.

BlondieLeigh

It has only been 10 days, but it bothers me that Grace doesn't seem to have considered Cal at all in relation to this. She needs to at least acknowledge that he needs factoring in.

It seems that way, but it also didn't seem opportunist to me. Nothing happened for two years, after all, and from what we saw a couple of episodes ago, Michaela was always on her mind.

Austenphile

As far as she is concerned, she is rebuilding her marriage. That is also what is best for Cal. So she probably has considered him. She decided that after watching him and Ben in episode 2.

BlondieLeigh

She's not committed to rebuilding her marriage, though, seeing as we were shown last week she's still answering Danny's calls and giving him hope. Sure, she tried to stop that this week, but she also didn't tell Ben about it, so...

Austenphile

Maybe Cal’s illness will make her take stock of his needs.

BlondieLeigh

I hope it does. Shock her back into proper reality.

L i N d $ @ y

It kind of gives me a perspective too. Like which is worst? Ben/Grace/Danny or Michaela/Jared/Lourdes?

BlondieLeigh

I think Ben/Grace/Danny is worse because it's so in your face. Michaela is being given more to do, even with the poor decisions relating to her own triangle. That and Lourdes is far more likeable than Danny.

Austenphile

And Ben/Grace/Danny involve two kids. And having Olive choose Mom’s boyfriend over her Dad makes it awful.

BlondieLeigh

Yep, kids involved makes it worse as a rule. Olive didn't choose anyone though, she's just a confused kid that no one is talking to.

Austenphile

I don’t know. It seems to me in episode 2 she wanted her mom to let go of one of them. Now we know that was not Danny. She wants her family of 3 back. But I guess with Cal. And Cal has no idea who Danny is.

BlondieLeigh

I don't think she does. She's confused and she wants to know where she stands. No one is telling her anything, she doesn't know how she's meant to feel, doesn't feel able to talk to Ben and Grace is too wrapped up in herself.

Austenphile

I will have to disagree. She is treating Ben like he is the reasons her parents (which she seems to see as Danny and Grace) cannot be together. She was completely freezing out any attempt he made to get to know her before the shoplifting incindent. She told her mom “I was right then and I am right now. It is your turn to let go”. We and Grace thought she meant Danny. But now we know she meant Grace needed to let go of Ben so Danny could be back in their lives again. I don’t think she’s confused about what she wants. She is acting like a child of divorce towards the new parent. Except the new parent is her real parent that never meant to be separated from her. At this point I think she intended to parent trap Grace and Danny at Bluemercury and she convinced Ben to keep quiet about it because she knew Danny would tell Grace and it would drive a wedge between Grace and Ben, possibly opening up the way for Danny to come back home to her and Grace. I think her relationship with Danny is going to cause all kinds of issues for Ben and Grace’s marriage and keep her from bonding with Ben again.

I am not heartless. I see why she would think like that. Danny pulled her and her mom through an emotional time and they bonded. Now I do not trust Danny so I think he is using her and his relationship with her to get Grace back. I also think he put that condom under the bed on purpose.

And either way one of the kids will be hurt by the resolution of the triangle.

BlondieLeigh

She really isn't, she literally said that she loves her dad. She's a confused kid whose normal has just been snatched away from her again. She literally told us why she was shutting Ben out - so he didn't see her as the screw up everyone else did. We don't know who she meant at all, she can mean the same thing about two different people at different points in time.

She is a child, everything she knows has been snatched away from her twice. It would me moronic if she weren't trying to retain something of her most recent normal. Nothing she has done suggests she was trying to sway Grace either way, all it has shown is that she's confused, needs reassurance/answers and wants her mother to make her mind up one way of the other so she can get that. She's not being malicious, Ben is not a victim, she a child in a bizarre situation with parents that have no answers to give her.