Category: TV

My Secret Lives of Mormon Wives Season 3 Reunion Thoughts

~ Courtney Shek ~ Leave a comment

We need to talk about this because it was not a good reunion. I don’t know how much footage they got from this day and if this really was the best edit but like give me the uncut footage or something like this gave me NOTHING.

First of all, Brett and Zac fighting backstage immediately lead me to believe the reunion was going to be spicy. Them hashing it out after five minutes and being cool is such a guy thing. Ugh. Give me a smackdown besties! Also Brett is twice the age of everyone else and is acting like the biggest child, which is so embarrassing.

Meanwhile, on the main stage (deadass this kinda feels like RuPaul’s Drag Race untucked with the men backstage and the women on stage lol) they bring in these random side guests at the sponsored bar which serves NO PURPOSE. Like Chase comes on and says NOTHING. Like what’s the point??? “What til season 4” nah this is not what a reunion is for. Why bring him here at all??

They also brought out Layla’s boyfriend and Chase’s brother Mason. And okay, that made sense to confirm about him and Layla being together but again it was kind of a nothing moment. But I am happy Layla is happy. I wish they had talked more about her growth this season and coming into her own because that was a moment.

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My Secret Lives Of Mormon Wives Season 2 Reunion Thoughts!

~ Courtney Shek ~ Leave a comment

I’ve had this in my drafts since I watched the reunion two weeks ago and forgot about it lol so why not post it now?

I decided to give Secret Lives Of Mormon Wives a go after a recommendation from my manager at work lol. I have to say I wasn’t a fan of these women after the first season. I couldn’t tell them apart, their voices were annoying…I just didn’t know if this was something I was going to enjoy.

Then season 2 came out and I was INVESTED. I am not sure what switched because I feel like this was much of the same from the first season but something changed. It could be that I now can tell them apart and I follow some of them on Instagram so am more interested, but the point is I am here and I am enjoying it and I am ready to share my thoughts about the reunion. So let’s dive in:

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Recently Watched Netflix Shows 2024/2025

~ Courtney Shek ~ Leave a comment

It’s been a while since I made one of these posts! But I realised that I have watched quite a few one-season Netflix shows recently so thought I would share my thoughts on them. They are in order of watched most recent so I might have recency bias but I have enjoyed all of these a lot.

Running Point

An easy one to start with, I literally finished this a few days ago. I wasn’t sure what to think initially when I decided to watch this, but now I have watched it and I agree with what everyone online has been saying, that this is kind of like Ted Lasso for basketball.

Isla Gordon is put in the spotlight as she takes over her family’s basketball team, the LA Waves. The show is filled with dysfunctional family drama while Isla tries to girl boss her way to the playoffs. Thankfully, you don’t need to know anything about basketball to watch this show. I had no idea what was going on with that bit, lol, but I still really enjoyed this.

I enjoyed the reappearance of Brenda Song in my life, better known as London Tipton from the Suite Life of Zack and Cody. It was a nice surprise. I also enjoy the dysfunctional family dynamics of the Gordon family including a secret half brother no-one knew about until now. I am looking forward to seeing where it goes, but also sad I have to wait for another season. At least there will be another season, I know Netflix can be flaky with this kind of thing so we shall ride the wave as long as they allow us. Omg that was totally an unintentional pun lol.

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My 2024 Wrapped!

~ Courtney Shek ~ Leave a comment

Since Spotify Wrapped became a huge thing and companies realised that people like stats, I have quite a lot of year-end stats things and so I thought I would put them all here in one place! When I started physical journalling, I have also been printing these out and putting them in my journal to mark the end of the year, so I thought why not also put them on my blog? I shared them on Twitter and Bluesky too but I think it’s kind of nice to have them all in one place. So here its, my 2024 wrapped:

Spotify

Starting off with Spotify you can see my top artist is Taylor Swift. This is a surprise to no one because Taylor has been my top Spotify artist every year since 2018 lol. That being said she did have some competition this year from Sabrina Carpenter, I just love Taylor’s music. She is a constant go-to for me and I went to see the Eras tour this year so of course I was going to be listening to her non-stop.

Other top artists are usually a surprise to me because I don’t know anyone I listen to more than Taylor lol. Sabrina Carpenter kind of creeped up on me because I started listening to her heavily in the second half of the year. Don’t think she’ll take the top spot from Taylor though. But we’ll see how 2025 plays out.

As for top songs, I really thought Espresso would be there as it was for so many people but I suppose it didn’t grab me quite as much as I thought. I’m not surprised that 3 of the songs are Taylor’s because I’m obsessed. It seems I enjoy You’re On Your Own Kid as much as Taylor did on the Eras tour (she played it as a surprise song A LOT). And I really loved Not my Fault which was released as part of the Mean Girls movie soundtrack. When I first heard it in January I knew I’d be listening to it non-stop and there it is on the stats lol.

The only prediction I have for 2025 is Taylor will still be top and I will continue to listen to all the same artists, I always challenge myself to try to find new songs to listen to but I like my staples, which include Taylor, some KPop and usually the Glee or Nashville casts lol. Less so Glee over the years but I can’t deny the Gleek phase I had all those years ago.

Nintendo

Next up, we have Nintendo Switch! I never know with Nintendo what my stats are going to be because I feel like I don’t play my Switch that often. I mean I go through phases, which is what you can see from my hours played by months but I don’t consistently play it. If this was the pandemic, it was a different story lol but this year was very hit or miss.

I started the year playing a lot because I had gotten new games at Christmas, Fashion Dreamer and Super Mario Wonder. Though I have to admit I have not played Wonder since the first few months of the year, I think I felt like I was making too much progress so just stopped instead of slowing down lol. And then I have played Fashion Dreamer here and there, though the game doesn’t actually have much to it and initially I wasn’t sure I liked it, I have enjoyed occasionally playing and dressing up.

But overall, most of my time has been spent in Animal Crossing, I picked it up again towards the second half of the year and have been enjoying it. Animal Crossing will always be a staple for me when it comes to gaming. And even though I was experiencing some burnout from the game in recent years, I like to pick it up every now and then because there’s nothing more calming than walking around the island and doing daily tasks and having routine. That being said, I would love to see my island in the daytime every now and then, considering the only time I get to play is in the evening lol.

Predictions for 2025 include me just playing more Animal Crossing probably. Though I did get MySims at Christmas so could see that peeking up – moreso MySims Kingdom I think lol. Oh and the Hello Kitty Adventure game is coming to Switch which I absolutely will be getting as well. So maybe the Switch will have some interesting stats – we’ll see.

Steam

Most of the time my Steam recap is nothing to write home about because I don’t really PC game. But this year we actually had some interesting stats!

One of the other reasons why my Nintendo Switch gaming fell off after February was because Stardew Valley had a massive update on PC. I do own Stardew Valley on Switch as well, but the update did not get ported to Switch until like November or something so I was playing Stardew on PC. I hadn’t played in a couple years so I forgot how addicting it can be just to be on the farm. Plus, I remember work being very stressful during March/April time and Stardew Valley was a perfect escape lol.

Along with Stardew, I was playing Coral Island at the start of the year, it also got tossed to the side for Stardew because I like to only play one farming sim at a time. Though I would like to revisit Coral Island because it’s had a lot of updates this year so must check it out.

I know Two Point Campus is here but I do not remember playing it very much and then I had a short-lived PlateUp stint with my brother and niece. Even though I enjoy PlateUp it will not compete with Overcooked in my eyes. And Virtual Cottage was a game I downloaded in December to help me focus on tasks – which was cute but I only got it because I didn’t want to pay for Spirit City: Lofi Sessions. But then I got Spirit City in a humble bundle at the end of December so expect to be seeing that on my Steam replay next year for sure lol.

Not sure what my Steam replay will be next year to be honest, like I said I’m not really a PC gamer and Sims doesn’t count, because it’s on EA and EA do not do a year-end stats thing. Though I would love to know about how much I actually play the Sims throughout the year because I go through phases with it as I do with everything else haha.

StoryGraph

This year I had a goal of 35 books, which I thought would be doable because I read 35 books last year. What I did not account for was that last year I wasn’t driving, so I was always on public transport and reading then but when I’m driving I can’t read lol. And I know people listen to audiobooks when driving but I can’t do that, I need to focus on the road so yeah a lot of my reading time went out the window.

That being said I did make the goal, but only because I forced myself to really stay on-task and read 5 books in December. No easy feat but thanks to a couple of audiobooks I did reach the goal. That being said, I have said a smaller goal for 2025 lol. Reading isn’t supposed to be stressful so I need to reset my expectations.

Feel like there’s not a lot to say about my reading stats, if you’ve been following my blog then you know Cecily von Ziegesar is my top author because I was reading the It Girl series. And typically, when you read a book series that author is going to be the top lol.

My hope for 2025 is to clear out some more reads I picked from Amazon Prime monthly freebies because I have so many of them. But also just finding more books I enjoy in general. Also I think I need to remember to stop reading books if I don’t enjoy them, like did I really need to read the It Girl series to completion if I wasn’t enjoying it? Probably not. So yeah definitely don’t waste time reading something if I don’t like it, even if I am trying to reach a reading goal lol.

Serializd

This is a new one to add to the stats so I started tracking my TV shows on Serializd in 2024. I started tracking movies/TV shows on Trakt forever ago but they only do a recap if you pay for premium which I do not. But Serializd is more like Letterboxd just for TV shows and I enjoy it because it lets me leave reviews and see other people’s.

So this is interesting to me, it says Gossip Girl is my most watched show but I feel like I watched way more Below Deck than Gossip Girl. When I started logging Gossip Girl I was already halfway through my rewatch, so I’m not sure how they worked this out. Like you’re telling me the last 3 seasons of Gossip Girl has more episodes than all of Lucifer? Because I watched that whole series this year…

Yeah not sure how accurate the stats are with this, and if it counts episodes you’ve marked as watched vs ones you actually review or what. But the point is, I have watched a lot of TV this year lol.

Highlights of TV this year that I remember include: a lot of Below Deck and Below Deck: Med – it is very easy to binge so I enjoy it a lot. That being said I’m almost caught up on it so I’ll be sad when there’s nothing to binge. I also did try a Nashville rewatch but dropped it because it’s a lot more depressing than I remember and I couldn’t handle it with all the stress going on in my real life lol. I watched a lot of one-off random things as well which I think I will make a recently watched post about – if I remember.

Things I think I will be watching in 2025 – Gilmore Girls, I started a rewatch so I have to finish it lol. Probably will rewatch something else at some point because you know I love a rewatch of a comfort show. There’s nothing new on the horizon I think I’m that interested in but me and my fiance have picked up the Mentalist again (after watching 3 seasons in 2023 and stopping) so we will be finishing that in 2025 for sure. If I find anything noteworthy I’m sure I’ll post about it online haha.

And this concludes my 2024 wrapped! Obviously this is just a small portion of what my year amounted to. 2024 was an incredible year for me with a lot of highs so I will probably make a highlights post in the coming days as well. I usually always have some sort of recap of the year on my blog so of course this year will not be an exception.

I am also feeling very inspired as I often do at the start of the year, so I am going to try to blog more here on top of the 20 other things I want to accomplish this year lol. Whether it happens or not we will see but I am hoping to be around here more. Even if it’s just a little check-in I think it would be good to keep updated. After all, can’t really call myself a blogger if I don’t blog right? Anyway, that’s all for now. Will be back with more soon!

Emily in Paris Season 4 Thoughts

~ Courtney Shek ~ Leave a comment

Another wild season of Emily in Paris is over and I wanted to share my thoughts. Even though I do enough of that on Serializd – which btw I use a lot so follow me there because I obsessively log every episode of TV I watch there lol.

So yeah anyway I guess my main thing this season was that I was refusing to ship Gabriel and Emily because, let’s be real, if they were going to be together I feel like it would’ve been done already? Besides, did they really think it was going to work when Cami was pregnant with Gabriel’s baby? Wild.

I will say though two scenes which were really strong for Gabriel and Emily were when Grabriel was yelling at Emily in French because she didn’t understand and the scene where Emily leaves Gabriel the voicemail in French. The latter scene really had me shipping them even though I don’t want to be lol. Like I want them to leave it alone, but the drama side of me NEEDS Gabriel showing up in Italy you know?

So we’ll see what happens, but realistically, Emily is not going to last long in Italy with the Italian guy. I mean we seen how fast Alfie got booted out of the picture, so we’ll see how long this guy lasts.

I will admit to being sad about Alfie because I really liked him and I thought he and Emily were going to give it another go but then he immediately moved on and got a new girlfriend and then we basically never saw him again. So yeah, I guess he’s out of the running in terms of love interests.

Another thing I am sad about is how fast the Mindy going to Eurovision thing was dropped. Like, half the season she was working to get money to go to Eurovision and then immediately in the second half of the season she’s like “oh yeah that’s not happening we got disqualified”. Very sad. I mean logistically it probably works out if the show doesn’t have to fake Eurovision but considering Netflix has already done a whole-ass Eurovision movie, they could’ve done it for Emily in Paris. At least Mindy is going to be able to redeem herself on Chinese popstar or whatever the show was, I guess that’s something?

Probably the most surprising this season was that Cami discovered she wasn’t pregnant – okay that bit is not the shocking part lol. It is after that, she decided she actually does want a baby and has decided to adopt one. Not sure if this means we won’t see her again although something about that one scene gave the idea she might never be seen again. Just because this seems like the kind of show to pick up and drop characters easily. That being said, I’ll miss Cami if she never comes back. She was fun, even if she caused drama for no reason between Gabriel and Emily.

Something else which was wild and I kind of found unnecessary was the addition of Genevieve, Sylvie’s step-daughter. I mean she drove a wedge between Gabriel and Emily, sure but like I just don’t think we need her. She’s annoying, and while I usually love someone coming in to try to steal someone’s life, who would want Emily’s lol I mean, okay, I want Emily’s life but at the same time, I don’t think Gen is really the evil villain to try to do it. I imagine she’ll be dropped early next season considering she hasn’t done a very good job at overtaking Emily’s life or even steal Gabriel away for that matter. She was just around for no reason lol.

I am however interested to see what will happen with Sylvie and her marriage and the Italian boyfriend she’s got going on lol. I always found her relationship interesting and it’s only going to become messier with her mother involved in her husband’s club and her husband still stepping out, but also her cheating…like it’s bound to implode. So I’m ready for that.

Overall, it’s been a fun season. Not all episodes were winners but I found myself entertained every step of the way and I do enjoy a silly TV show to take a break from all the serious drama that gets released. I need more shows like this. So if you have any suggestions, let me know. But in the meantime, I will be rewatching Gilmore Girls and other shows because I’m just not ready to bring anything new into my life at this time. Can’t wait for the next season of Emily in Paris – or should I say Emily in Rome – where I will have absolutely forgotten every plot point from this and previous seasons by the time it airs.

Mean Girls 2024 Review

~ Courtney Shek ~ Leave a comment

I have been waiting for this movie to come out since it was announced last year and so naturally, I had to treat myself and go see it on release day. What else would you be doing on a Wednesday anyway?

So first of all, I think we should address the musical part. I know a lot of people were surprised to find out that this movie was in fact, a musical. But at the same time, how could you not pick up from the trailers, even a little that this was going to be a musical. There were definitely scenes in there that screamed musical number to me, and also the musical note in the title was a big giveaway.

But I also dislike Paramount’s reasoning for not marketing this as a musical and saying it’s a “comedy film with music”. Because this is a full-blown musical. If they had to teach a large number of people choreography, and there were specific big musical numbers that look like they could be in Glee – it’s a musical. A movie that also just happens to have singing to me is a movie with less than five songs. And in the first twenty minutes of this movie, there were about four songs…so ya know it’s a musical.

And I think if you already know it’s a musical going into it, you definitely enjoy it way more. At least, I did.

The songs were fun and honestly Regina bobbing in and out of people during “Someone Gets Hurt” was hilarious. And naturally, “Revenge Party” was a fave. Can’t beat a bright set, confetti and fun costumes.

One song I didn’t care for was “What’s Wrong With Me?” the placement was a bit random to me. Like random and out of place for a musical. But overall I loved all the songs. I do wish they had included “Let’s Do This Thing” because I think it added to the Mathletes but it’s fine.

I was also worried that they would’ve changed too many things so it wasn’t going to be Mean Girls but they had all the good things going for them. The iconic quotes, the callback to the O.G costumes, Ms Norberry and Principal Duvall. Loved it.

As for the rest of the casting?

Well at first, I didn’t see Christopher Briney as Aaron Samuels but when I saw the trailers and how he played it I saw it. He is a Gen Z heartthrob. I just wasn’t sure if I could see past him as Conrad in The Summer I Turned Pretty. But in this, I was thinking Conrad who?? He had the vibes. Despite having probably five lines in the whole movie, he looked the part and that’s what counts.

The casting for Cady was eh for me. I just feel like there was no acting lol. Well, I kind of felt that for most people to be honest but Cady was flat for me. Even the singing. And compared to Lindsay Lohan, it just wasn’t there. Sorry, Angourie Rice…

Renee Rap as Regina George though sold it for me, her voice is amazing and the attitude was on point. I wish we had seen more of her being bitchy and in control though. I feel like a little something was missing to sell it fully to me but I think it had more to do with the way things played out than Renee herself. Still slayed it though.

The casting for Janice and Damien was great, loved them. Can’t complain. Gretchen and Karen were fine but they had such a little part in this I wasn’t focusing on them too much.

Also, I was trying to figure out why this movie felt so different to me and I only realised it when Cady was leaving Regina flowers towards the end – they didn’t have Cady do any voiceovers. This makes sense since Damien and Janice were the narrators of the story but I was missing it. Like I needed some more commentary on situations I think, plus there was no word vomit…I mean initially when Cady was talking to Aaron there was a little but like not as much as I expected. So if I had to say anything was missing that would be it.

Overall though, highly entertaining and fun. I thought the TikTok references and things would be annoying but I actually didn’t mind it that much, it’s just part of the times and I feel like they didn’t do it in such a way it was overwhelming. I guess the only thing that would have made it better is if we saw a glimpse of the OG Plastics at least once. We did get that Lindsay Lohan cameo though and I did think that was great.

I definitely recommend this to Mean Girls fans, especially if you loved the musical and also if you are looking for a fun and non-serious movie. I feel like recently cinema has been so serious and super-hero-y. We need these kinds of movies that are dumb and a bit trashy, I want the chick flick era of cinema to return.

In the meantime, I think it’s time for a rewatch of the OG Mean Girls movie. It’s been a while and as the movie tagline says – Plastic is Forever.

Recently Watched TV Shows 2023

~ Courtney Shek ~ Leave a comment

It’s been a long time since I’ve blogged about anything but I am back to share some of the TV shows that I’ve been watching recently. Since the writer’s strike had been going on and a lot of TV shows had been put on hold, I thought it was a good time to catch up on some new stuff that’s been released.

Below Deck Franchise

Okay so, I’ve actually been binge-watching Below Deck since April this year but it deserves a mention here because I am so obsessed haha.

My boyfriend and I started watching Below Deck: Sailing Yacht on a whim on Netflix and have become hooked ever since. I just never knew about all the drama that could come about from working on a superyacht and it’s so GOOD.

The funny thing about the binge-watching though is that we haven’t actually watched the original Below Deck, we just watch all the spin-offs lol. I mean it really started with the Adam/Jenna drama of Sailing Yacht and me doing a deep-dive and finding out that Adam had been on Below Deck: Med. From that, I found out about Hannah being fired due to her valium and I was like “Oh well we need to see how that happens”.

So since April, we’ve seen seasons 2-5 of Below Deck: Med, all seasons of Below Deck: Sailing Yacht and Below Deck: Down Under. We did try to watch season one of Below Deck: Med but the captain was not our fave, so we gave it a miss.

The latest season I’ve been watching has been Below Deck: Down Under and it was wild. Between the employees being fired due to sexual misconduct and Joao making a surprise reappearance in the series it’s been a journey. Sad it’s over but we still have two seasons of Med and also the adventure spin-off to watch, not to mention a new season of Med coming basically this week lol. So I’ll never have a shortage of Below Deck in my life.

Cruel Summer Season 2

I was unsure about going into season 2 of this show considering they were going to be changing up the cast and it was going to be a different storyline. The first season is so strong that I think that whatever came out next was going to be a bit of a letdown.

And I was right, season 2 did not hold the same appeal to me as season 1. I think I just really liked the storyline of season 1 more, I mean an unpopular girl steals the life of the popular girl after she disappeared? More interesting to me than a mysterious girl moving to a new town and the boy-next-door ending up dead. I mean written like that they both sound good. I think it was just how everything played out for season 2 was less satisfying. Season 1 really gave me everything with all the reveals and stuff.

I have to say I do like the format of this show though, I think it’s interesting. That being said, I don’t hate how drastically different the filters are for the show. I mean it makes sense, to tell the timelines apart but at the same time, it’s so extreme. Plus the main character’s appearance always completely changes too and I don’t love it. Give me a more subtle, 13-reasons-why-Clay-giant-gash-in-his-dead vibe than a complete emo makeover please haha.

I mean, in season 1 it made sense for Jeanette to cut her hair off after Kate came back to try to prove she wasn’t actually trying to steal her life etc. but with Megan in season 2 her look is just ugly and the slicked back hair and eyebrow ring really bothered me…

But anyway, I’m hoping there are more seasons because it would be interesting to see more things done in this format.

XO, Kitty

I was hesitant to start this, only because Kitty is so annoying in To All The Boys, I didn’t know if I could handle a whole show where she is the centre of attention. And Kitty was still being annoying in this series lol though to be fair less annoying as the episodes went on, but I suppose that’s just a reflection of her growing up.

I didn’t know what to make of the show on the first episode because I think they played too heavily on KPop for me. I’m glad it was only the first episode because I could not get into a show which is trying to have serious moments and then they blast BTS just because. That being said, I loved that they used Seventeen in the pilot because they’re one of my fave bands.

I also don’t know what audience this show is even meant to be for because they have these cute tween moments with Kitty and Dae etc and then also have some serious topics going on like Kitty’s mom possibly having another child and everything. Plus the aesthetic and the characters also lean on the younger side. I’m not saying older people can’t enjoy it too, it’s just not clear who the target demographic is actually meant to be.

Aside from that, I did end up enjoying this show and the characters grew on me. I am looking forward to more of it and seeing where it goes. Also, I know it’s not about them, but I wouldn’t hate if Lara Jean and Peter made an appearance…also love that Kitty’s Dad is too busy playing Aiden in the Sex and the City reboot to care that his daughter was caught up in a big under age drinking club night in Korea but that’s a whole other thing lol.

The Summer I Turned Pretty

First off, I appreciate any show where Taylor Swift music is featured prominently. I think it fits the series super well.

I wasn’t sure if I was going to like this or not based on the cliche that it is. I mean come on, a girl who wasn’t pretty has a glow-up and finally gets the attention of the boy she has wanted to date since forever? Not my fave trope. Also didn’t know season 2 of this came out this year so I binge-watched both seasons in one go.

I liked the first season, it was cute. But I think I could have left it at that because season two was not my fave. I mean first of all it got so dark so quickly lol I literally watched the finale of season one and then BAM season two had Belly and Conrad breaking up and Suzanne dying? Yikes. I hadn’t read the books so had no idea where we were going with this.

I personally would have liked if Belly had chosen Jeremiah all along. I hated how in season two, she just flipped and went to be with Jeremiah after the Conrad fallout. Mainly because she’d already purposely rejected Jere for his brother and now was doing the exact same thing to Conrad. Oof. Not cute.

AND ON TOP OF THAT, I heard there was a season 3 and so I looked up the synopsis of the third book AND BELLY GOES BACK TO CONRAD AGAIN. Ugh. No. I hate that even more. Like just give up on the boys at that point, there is too much switching between brothers and it’s weird. There’s a reason it didn’t work out with both of them and I think y’all are better off as friends.

So yeah, safe to say if the third season goes the same way as the book I won’t enjoy it lol. I like the idea of the show and everything in that it’s coming of age, first love and cute and all but the actual love story is not for me.

The Flatshare

This was so cute! I normally dislike when a movie/TV show is exactly the same as the book but I really enjoyed this one. I think because it’s been a while since I read the book, but the story is fun and I think the adaptation played it perfectly.

Honestly could not recommend enough if you love the book or haven’t seen it. I feel like we need more of this kind of rom-com stuff in our lives. They don’t really make movies/TV shows like this anymore. I don’t have much to say about this but that’s just because it was so fabulous.

And that brings us to the end of my current “to watch” list! I am not sure what is next for me, I know there is a new Love is Blind season but I don’t know if I am quite ready for more of that as I feel like I’ve watched a lot of LIB recently. But I do wish there were more shows like the ones I mentioned here in general. Like where are my girly light chick-flick-y type things? If you have any suggestions for shows I might like please let me know!

In the meantime, I’ll probably be rewatching something like Gossip Girl or Gilmore Girls. Heck, I’ve even been considering rewatching Vampire Diaries recently…but that’s all for now. I’m sure I’ll be back soon with something else I need to share my opinion on very soon lol.

Grey’s Anatomy Season 19 Thoughts

~ Courtney Shek ~ Leave a comment

This is long over due lol. I forgot I had two episodes left to finish the season so I left this hanging for a while but I finally watched them! So here are my thoughts on season 19 of Grey’s Anatomy:

  • Not Link sleeping with an intern and them them turning around and rejecting him basically lol fun
  • Owen and Teddy are back and Teddy is on edge about everything that’s so fun haha
  • Kai and Amelia are super cute I hope Kai sticks around. But I also hope they don’t change their mind about kids because I think that’s valid and I don’t want them to just suddenly be about kids just to be with Amelia
  • Loved everyone dancing making reels about sex ed
  • So Meredith isn’t leaving because of the job in Minnesota which would have made sense but instead she got stuck as chief of Grey Sloan and looked like she was staying. But now Zola needs a special school because she’s actually a child genius so she’s moving to Boston to cure Alzheimer’s? Sounds like Meredith Grey lol
  • Also Nick moving to Seattle to run the residency program for Meredith and now she’s just leaving? Is he leaving too? What’s going on, this is all dumb
  • So I know Maggie is also leaving this season does her leaving involve divorce from Winston?? Because I see that
  • Yay its been 5 minutes and all the interns are hooking up except maybe not??
  • Oh another way to be like “Meredith is leaving” burn down her house hahaha I swear this show
  • We love to see growth in Meredith not begging Nick to love her since we already had our iconic “choose me” moment with McDreamy. But is she purposely shutting Nick out now? The man moved state and uprooted his whole life for her once and he is definitely going to do it again if she lets him lol
  • We really are passing the torch to the new interns, Meredith’s house and all, it is a new generation. Do we need it though? Like yes, this will always be a good comfort show for me but how many more seasons are we going to get through before we call it quits?
  • So like…are they ever going to address the issues going on in Owen and Teddy’s relationship? Like they haven’t been good since Owen broke the law and Teddy has been raging at him. I mean she was being tough on him as they worked together, then they had sex and it seemed magically fine?? But then in that Halloween episode last season she seemed annoyed at him again and he fell asleep when she said those nice things. And now Owen is pushing for her to be Chief but still are they okay again? Are they bad? I just need answers!!!
  • Also amazed that Owen got away with a slap on the wrist for what he did like bitch if he was Meredith Grey this would have been a 10 episode plot line or some shit. Or he would’ve been written out. I’m amazed he’s still around lol
  • This season I feel like every patient they have is dying and I hate it. Like all the people we are routing for all gone, the author, the football player, the woman Bailey and Addison were trying to transport for an abortion like…its so depressing. Worse than the COVID season
  • I haven’t learnt any of the interns names and I know it’s going to take a while to know them but I was rooting for Amelia’s nephew and your other girl to get together, but naturally the fiance shows up and ruins everything lol. It’s never easy
  • I am actually surprised Jo and Link didn’t immediately get together to be honest, but it looks like that’s growing.
  • So Owen gets his medical license back just like that, cool. Maybe he is the new Meredith, he’s getting away with a huge illegal thing with nothing and is back to practicing medicine like nothing ever happened. Oh and him and Teddy seem totally fine now?
  • The focus on abortions and Addison this season is really hitting hard. I mean it’s just a reminder that this is something going on in real life and it’s just as ridiculous. I hate it, I hate that it’s not just a fictional plotline made up. And in a perfect world, Addison alone would be able to make abortion legal worldwide because she’s an icon but we don’t live in that world.
  • It’s been a few months and I forgot I still had two episodes left of this season to watch. Oops.
  • Okay so we all knew that Simone was not going to marry that guy and was going to get with Lucas. She just took a really long time getting there lol
  • When I saw everyone getting on Katherine’s private jet and the turbulence started going I started getting trauma flashbacks to the last time so many doctors were on a plane together. I don’t need that again. RIP Mark, Lexie and Arizona’s leg lol
  • So Kwan has went rogue and resuscitated Maxine who had a DNR…yikes. It’s not the first time an intern has done something stupid. I hope Maxine is okay though she was really nice, I understand why Kwan would want to save her life but yeah…not a fun time
  • OMG the guy who broke like all his bones, how could we not talk about him? I really like him. He was cute and fun flirting with Jo and everything. I mean not fun for Link but fun for everyone else lol.
  • Thank God Link finally admitted his feelings though because it was going on too long. If he didn’t say anything then Jo and that guy probably would have walked off into the sunset.
  • Well…maybe they would have if he didn’t need emergency surgery and the interns didn’t take over after Teddy COLLAPSES. Yeah the season finale really was a wild one there.
  • I don’t want Teddy to die, I really like her and we need her. Owen would be even more insufferable without her. But it’s clear her toothache was way more than that. I guess we just gotta sit tight and wait and see what’s going on with that
  • On top of that Lucas thinks he can save the patient on the table? Who is the broken bone guy – I don’t remember his name. But does that mean he’s dead?? He didn’t deserve to go out like this. I want justice for him.
  • I’m not even surprised that Meredith has come up with a completely different way of thinking about Alzheimer’s and is about to discredit everything Derek ever worked for like isn’t that just how she is. But also does that mean she’s back for season 20 or do we just enjoy this little guest appearance and not see her again?
  • I also loved seeing Bailey get her Katherine Fox award, she deserves it. Not that Maggie and everyone else didn’t but I feel like Bailey needed some good in her life.

This concludes my thoughts on Grey’s Anatomy season 19. Not going to lie, I had planned to get through the season quite quickly after season 18 and I started out strong and then Disney+ didn’t have the last two episodes of the season by the time I caught up and I kind of forgot about it.

But we finished it anyway! Besides, it’s not like the next season is going to be out for a long time what with the writer’s strike and everything. And even when that resolves who knows what’s really going to happen to the characters. Like at this point I don’t really make predictions about the show anymore, it’s been running so long that I can’t be surprised about what happens.

If anything I kind of want the end lol. Not in a bad way or anything but 20 seasons is a lot and I’m okay with letting go. I suppose I could just stop watching but it’s comforting to go back to Grey Sloan every once in a while. But yeah, for now I will go back to bingeing Below Deck and finishing my Desperate Housewives rewatch.

Love Is Blind Season 4 Reunion Thoughts

~ Courtney Shek ~ Leave a comment

Today we are talking about the Love Is Blind season 4 reunion! A few days late but you know it’s fine. I didn’t even watch this season until all the episodes had been released, like literally finished it the day before the reunion filmed so I’ve been behind on this season in general.

To be honest, I don’t think I’ve fully recovered from all the drama in the last season lol. I also feel fatigue from meeting so many new people each season like it’s exhausting always getting to know new people but I guess that’s the blight of reality TV. I just prefer the same cast we keep forever and we already know them, it’s easier.

But anyway yeah, onto this reunion. As always, my wedding predictions are wrong. I didn’t know if Bliss/Zack were going to make it and I also wasn’t sure about Kwame/Chelsea and they both surprised me but we’ll see if they last.

So the reunion was meant to be live but it wasn’t? They blame technical difficulties lol. I don’t know what went down because I wasn’t trying to watch it live, mainly because it was meant to be at 1 a.m. in the UK and I didn’t care enough to stay up. But I guess it worked out for me since they didn’t go live for ages/if at all.

The first thing I want to point out about the reunion and all Love Is Blind reunions is that they never spend enough time on the happily married couples. I’m talking about the ones that seemed to just get along fine the whole time and you know they’re gonna say yes at the altar. E.g. Lauren and Cameron, Alexa and Brennon and this season, Tiffany and Brett.

Yes Tiffany did fall asleep in the pods, but that was nothing, we’ve talked to that to death. Since they didn’t really have any other conflict or issue to overcome – that they aired – they get nothing in the reunion. It’s like ten minutes tops, meanwhile we listened to Kwame and Chelsea go on for half an hour. It’s not a dig at Kwame and Chelsea, it’s more that I wish we could hear more from the happy couples and their lives. It’s not as interesting but they deserve a spotlight especially if they want to prove their experiment really works, they should be selling the shit out of the successful couples.

Also on the note of Kwame and Chelsea, I love that they brought up Micah only to not let her really speak at all on the situation. I don’t like that they ask her a question and then ignore her afterward, like yes, you are speaking about a couple but you also brought up Micah because she was involved there with the potential conflict. I just think we need to hear out all parties. Everyone criticizes Vanessa and Nick for being bad hosts and this is why lol. To be fair, it seems like they have a better handle on things in this one than they did in the past with the whole Shake situation.

It’s good to see that Kwame and Chelsea’s relationship is stronger than what we were shown on TV though because the narrative they were pushing was that it was very strongly one-sided in that Chelsea decided everything and Kwame was sacrificing a lot. I’m sure that was an issue for them but I hope they have resolved it.

It’s also nice that this reunion is a lot calmer and it’s not just everyone shitting on one person because it would’ve been so easy for them to all turn on Irina the way that everyone turned on Cole in the last reunion. And in my opinion, what Irina did was way worse than any of Cole’s actions. She was a classic mean girl and was awful to Zack when she saw him in person and there’s all the tapes to prove it. So it’s good to see everyone being mature about the situation.

That being said Irina kept talking in circles, plus she was half owning up to her mistakes and half dismissing them because of her mental health. Which, yes mental health issues are valid but if you were really having a big crisis about it then leave the show. Though based on recent reports I don’t think it’s as easy as just walking off.

I just know that I could never show my face if the world saw me treat people like she treated Zack it was so unfair to him. And it’s the exact shit that Shake was doing and he got treated worse for it, I guess because he was openly telling people he was done with Deepti but even so, it’s not good. Even if you are in a situation you don’t like you shouldn’t string people along just to have your 15 minutes of fame.

I am glad that Zack and Bliss are doing well though. Don’t love Zack’s beard but that’s a personal thing lol. I feel like they didn’t really touch a lot on their relationship that I recall, I guess because once they did get together it was smooth sailing like Brett and Tiffany we don’t need to ask them questions.

They did not handle talking about Paul and Micah well at all lol. It just felt awkward them seeming to pressure Paul for answers about why he said no at the altar etc. And Paul seems like the kind of guy who is not able to articulate himself well under pressure, I feel for the guy.

Also, I understand what he was trying to say about how you shouldn’t have to ask your partner to be more affectionate but at the same time bro you gotta communicate your love languages. If they are different from Micah’s then let her know she can do more of what you need, you know? Maybe she’s not all touchy feely but you need that then tell her. I’m not putting all the blame on Paul but I just think communication could be better for both parties.

I do wish we got more information about their relationship outside the pods but sounds like there wasn’t really one lol. I also would have liked to hear more from Micah but she didn’t seem up for saying much.

Then we move on to Jackie and Josh and I feel like it was a cop out for them not be there. I mean I understand why they aren’t there because they didn’t want to be put on blast but at the same time it just seems like they hiding. I also feel like Vanessa’s interview did not uncover anything lol. Josh barely said two words. Lame.

It seemed like Marshall wanted to say a lot about what Jackie said but he held back. I feel like he’s probably the smartest on that though it could be because he doesn’t want to paint himself in a bad light. Though at least he was there he could defend himself.

Then to wrap up the reunion, they had video clips they asked the couples to film of their married lives. This translated to some house tours? lol I mean I love a good sneak peak into people’s lives but I expected more. Thankfully Zack and Bliss came through with the goods, the cute photos and things. I gotta say I don’t love Zack’s singing but I didn’t marry him so as long as Bliss loves it, it’s fine.

I have to say, I wasn’t really sold on Zack and Bliss during the show but seeing them at the reunion changed my mind. They are so cute and in love and I am rooting for them.

The last thing I’ll say about the reunion is that Vanessa needs to stop putting pressure on people to have kids. It’s super uncomfortable, even getting Bartise to send in a video with his son and asking about having kids…it’s not a good look. These people got married only a year ago and still barely know each other can we give it time? But also what if they don’t want kids? It just wasn’t the best note to end on.

And all that leaves is the question, are they doing an After the Altar? I feel like they don’t have to since the reunion was live. But at the same time, I prefer seeing them in After the Altar just doing their own things and seeing more of the married couple life. I guess it’s just because I’m hoping for some last minute drama lol.

Oh and they announced a new season of Ultimatum, which I did enjoy the first season of so might check it out again. But all in all, I’d say reunion was fine. Nothing special. I never feel like the reunion episodes give me much. Anyway, glad to put another season of Love Is Blind behind me. Now to find other trash TV to fill the void…

Grey’s Anatomy Season 18 Thoughts

~ Courtney Shek ~ Leave a comment

It’s been two years but I am back with some Grey’s Anatomy thoughts, I don’t remember anything that’s happened because it’s been two years but I am also not binge-watching 17 seasons to find out lol. Maybe one day I’ll really get back into all of Grey’s Anatomy but it’s not the time. Plus there’s been a lot of TV shows I’ve been loving recently that Grey’s has really taken a backseat but I’m determined to get caught up again so let’s dive in!

I did read my last recap/thoughts post so I get the gist, so we are in COVID times, Meredith had COVID but she’s fine – but also I know from reading online she leaves next season so let’s not get comfortable with seeing her again lol. Maggie gets married, Link and Amelia are over(?), Jo is getting a baby presumably adoption my blog post didn’t say and probably many more things I’m missing but they seem like big things to start with.

  • I thought Teddy and Owen were already married lol it’s been too long honestly who even knows with them
  • Is this new plastics surgeon our answer to Christina Yang after all these years? I miss her
  • Who is Nick??? I’ve never seen him before lol – apparently he was around in season 14…well I watched season 14 in 2019 and I don’t remember him haha
  • I admire Amelia sticking to her guns on the marriage thing but my heart breaks for Link for sure
  • So like were they really hinting at Meredith’s departure this early? She’s goes to do the Parkinson’s research? But then Amelia doesn’t leave so…idk
  • I love the resident Olympics that’s so fun – gives me old days vibes
  • Love seeing Schmitt thrive and everyone helping out ugh so cute
  • So Meredith isn’t leaving just yet. I mean I knew that it’s next season but what makes her finally leave?? Other than Ellen Pompeo wanting a change lol
  • I forgot QUEEN ADDISON is back this season omg I loved her so much. She’s iconic
  • Addison bringing up Derek right now is so rude I was doing so fine on not crying. That lasted THREE episodes
  • So Schmitt is the clear favourite which is fine but like show the others every so often
  • I guess Maggie just isn’t in this season at all?
  • I’m all for Amelia’s flirtation with Kai. It’s cute
  • More Station19 crossover that I don’t need. Cool
  • I knew Nick would be Meredith’s new love interest but eh. I need her to have another Derek epic love it feels like she’s been through a lot of love interests recently which I guess is fine but idk not as interesting
  • I love some togetherness shots of the cast being cute. I tell ya despite the fact they’ve gotten rid of as many people as they’ve brought in, they still always feel like a family. Even if it takes a while to warm up to some of them. I know if they get everyone back for a finale I’ll cry like a baby
  • I knew they’d to the Link and Jo friends to lovers but why is it so damn obvious lol
  • Schmitt got too confident too quickly…and my heart breaks for him
  • We really love a tragedy don’t we…if Owen survives I’ll actually be shocked
  • Owen’s alive but he spilled that tea to Hayes and he can’t take it so he’s leaving?? Bro he is not the one I need to exit the show they better find some reason for him to stay
  • Megan better not jump off the deep end like this show has definitely had more heartache than anything in this season I swear something depressing happens every 5 minutes. I need more good moments. Especially when this is after COVID jeez.
  • I’m not gonna lie I was hoping for Jo and Link to remain platonic because it seems so impossible for us to have those relationships in Grey’s like I just need a Meredith/Alex kind of vibe again but we’ll see there’s probably going to be a lot of breaking up and making up in their future
  • I hate Maggie’s weird dream fantasy about Ellis because of that letter. It’s so dramatic and we all know that everyone in the Grey family has parental issues
  • Winston’s brother is definitely a scam artist
  • I am sad that Hayes left and everyone’s forgotten about it 5 minutes later, but I guess that’s the nature of the show now. Oh a character is leaving? No big deal. I guess he didn’t really serve a purpose other than being Meredith’s love interest for 5 minutes lol.
  • So the hospital is going to shit as the residency program might be cut, a classic Grey Sloan struggle lol. Brings me back to the days when Izzie cut the LVat – we love the chaos
  • Schmitt’s mum better be okay and he better recover this is so much trauma
  • Richard being high is such a cliche storyline lol the doctors have already eaten weed cookies once – I don’t need it again
  • Oh okay so Meredith is leaving, she’s already decided this season and then next season is when she really jumps ship. I see. Plant the seeds now so it doesn’t hurt as much when she’s really gone?
  • Not Meredith just making eye contact with Bokee while she is working on surgery on the hate crime victim and me bursting into tears omg
  • Yeah that hate crime hit hard. Thankfully I’ve never experienced it but I know it’s a real thing for many people of colour
  • Jackson and April are back! For 5 minutes but it’s nice
  • I can’t believe they would show me a Derek flashback when I am VULNERABLE
  • Oh they wanna do a whole montage of all the trauma we have been through the last 18 seasons. Great. Cool. Wasn’t like I wasn’t already crying. Amazing.

So there we have it, I have officially watched 400 episodes of Grey’s Anatomy. Wow. I can’t believe it’s been that many but also I can I mean we are on season 19 now people. I can’t stress enough how glad I am that I binged this series when I was at uni because there’s no other way I would have made it to this point with this show.

I am interested to see how they write Meredith out now though considering she’s just been handed this Chief job. Also they never mentioned Megan again after her son recovered from his surgery so I guess that’s just fine now? And Schmitt just jumps back in as if his mom wasn’t injured? I assume she is fine too?

So we leave this season with some questions, but there’s already a lot of season 19 out so I’m jumping directly into that to see if we get some answers. Though realistically, I doubt it. They seem to pick up and drop things quite quickly on this show, for example COVID doesn’t exist there anymore? I guess in real life people don’t really talk about it anymore but still, I expected to see at least one person in there suffering from long COVID or something.

Anyway yeah, probably be back soon with more Grey’s thoughts, now I’ve been binge-watching it again it shouldn’t take too long to get caught up.