She can be a little vindictive, he fucking terrorized her.

Yeah, but I'm not entirely clear on whether or not that was intentional. I'm not arguing that he wasn't a prick, and a smug know-it-all who could use some comeuppance, but... hm. New paragraph.

I was trying to come up with an analogy, partly along gender lines (because I think gender played into the power issues going on there so I was thinking maybe reversing the genders would illuminate something), but I'm having a lot of trouble coming up with it. So I'm wondering -- have we seen this dynamic before? Where the red herring suspect -- who's assholeish enough to have both cops and audience believing he could be the perpetrator of awful deeds -- turns out to have been innocent of all wrongdoing and then has a horrible thing done to them? Probably. I'm sure the sleepiness and drunkenness is affecting my memory. Anyway, if anybody thinks of one, let me know?

I don't think he did it on purpose, but she didn't stab him to death for it, just snarked him good.

And this is the second morally vague one-liner ending.

I read thought she was sincere, but that it came out a little edged. She meant it, but she wanted him to know she was gently throwing his words in his face.

A friend had a birthday today; so I missed the inside, and I managed to misset my VRC. I sort of have an approximate idea from skimming this thread. Anyone care to do a recap?

just snarked him good.

It just felt like an appallingly bad time to get the snark in. But, you know... mileage. Beagleage?

It just felt like an appallingly bad time to get the snark in. But, you know...

Sure, but when would the chance to uncuff him come again?

He had it coming AND it was a little evil of her. I think that may end up being my favorite thing about this show.

Well, the guy's on the dishing end of the thing, not the receiving, so it's vaguely academic, and, while he may be right, it's not the visceral kind of knowing. What was done to him (and, previously, to her), is, put in its simplest form, what he's been playing at.

There's a lot of rather snarky, "You so don't own the deep end of the control pool." But also some genuine, "I know what this is, and you can come out on the other side."

And I'd lay folding money he'll be redecorating his basement.

Right... The obvious question, folks: anybody know what the overnights numbers show?

I don't like Paul much in this episode. He seems to have "Nice guys finish last" syndrome. I even said to my boyfriend at one point, "Maybe the killer is some guy who got rejected by one of those women like Paul did, and followed him around to punish those women..." It was a half-baked theory. In any case, his snap judgements really irritated me. I have a feeling this is going to be a theme. Which, if I liked all the characters on the show, something would be wrong. (And I do like Web, at least in the sense that I find him terribly fascinating.)

Still hoping for more of Mel & Danny, though of course keeping in mind that as they aren't part of the power struggle, they are more peripheral characters.

...I often feel like Rebecca is River, speaking through Inara's mouth. She says things that are dream-like and spooky, but she says them in this incredibly formal cadence. Again, on rewatch I bet I will be able to reconcile the two, but I still find it a bit jarring first time through.

My favorite part is how it WASN'T church-guy. Because that would've been the easy way out.

No, you're remembering it right. Thank you. So do you think it was a sincere comment, or a snappy wisecrack, when she said it at the end?

I think it was sincere given what she said to Paul later about "Who do you think was really in control here?".

Also, off-topic, Emily - where did your tag come from? It sounds like a riff on the last line of RAISING ARIZONA.