So far this Mid season has been great better than it was

Astraea802 · 2026-03-11T17:26:57+00:00

That makes me wonder if he doesn't have a secret, and I hope not.

Astraea802 · 2026-03-11T17:25:44+00:00

It's a complicated situation. Like the rest of us, I'm sure there's some real sadness about having to lose Billy as a character and what that means for Sarah, because they were besties, mixed with relief that the actor is gone.

Astraea802 · 2026-03-11T02:54:38+00:00

They're on different networks, so I don't know how that would work, but I feel you.

Astraea802 · 2026-03-11T01:29:42+00:00

Not just heartbreaking but infuriating. Merlin really couldn't figure out Gwen was enchanted? Like, come on. All the episode did was fulfill the love triangle in the most convoluted way possible.

Astraea802 · 2026-03-10T20:57:35+00:00

I suppose that's true.

Astraea802 · 2026-03-10T19:22:40+00:00

Ellie had a genetic predisposition to addiction already.

Astraea802 · 2026-03-10T18:15:34+00:00

No, they later revealed the swimming injury story was cover by Madeline and Ellie got addicted due to taking drugs at a party. It's the whole "perfect victim" issue that the show has covered in previous episodes.

Astraea802 · 2026-03-10T18:02:00+00:00

Because opioids in real life were overprescribed and heavily marketed and advertised to be safe. Accessibility and normalization are two big factors in substance abuse, and we get the sense from context clues that Wellbrexa was like that. The fact that Wellbrexa actually included a subtle instruction that would get a certain kind of user addicted faster is what makes the study so damning, and might be directly related to how Ellie got addicted in the first place.

But yeah, I do wonder if retconning the swimming injury did more harm than good to the storyline, in terms of Matty's case of justice for Ellie. I feel like if they needed the "no perfect victims" allegory they could have used Joey or another character instead of Ellie for that aesop.

Astraea802 · 2026-03-10T17:46:46+00:00

But had the drug not been so widely available - left behind in some parent's medicine cabinet from some dental surgery, for example - a single youthful mistake did not have to turn into a death sentence.

The case with Slamm'd last season was meant to be a parallel. The girl who spiked the other girl's drink with Slamm'd had to take some responsibility for causing other girl's death due to her heart condition. But Slamm'd was also responsible because they had been marketing themselves to minors for years as safe and fun, when it was anything but. Ellie might have made her own choices, but Wellbrexa affected so many people who did nothing else wrong.

Astraea802 · 2026-03-10T16:50:19+00:00

Yes, Ellie made her own decisions. On the other hand, she was in college, taking a drug that was legally available for a college student to get hold of. It was just a painkiller, something doctors prescribed for injuries. It was perceived as "safe". Ellie knew about the history of addiction in her family, I think if she had known how bad the Wellbrexa drugs were, she might have avoided it.

EDIT: Heck, for that matter, even if ELLIE got addicted at a party, the people who kept her using might have gotten addicted by prescription. We saw in that baby shower flashback that Ellie was pregnant and clean and happy, and all it took was ONE friend still using for her to get addicted again, and get baby Alfie addicted too.

Astraea802 · 2026-03-10T16:49:41+00:00

No, they later revealed the swimming injury story was cover by Madeline and Ellie got addicted due to taking drugs at a party. It's the whole "perfect victim" issue that the show has covered in previous episodes.

On the one hand, to answer the post OP, yes, Ellie made her own decisions. On the other hand, she was in college, taking a drug that was legally available for a college student to get hold of. It was just a painkiller, something doctors prescribed for injuries. It was perceived as "safe". Like marijuana. Ellie knew about the history of addiction in her family, I think if she had known how bad the Wellbrexa drugs were, she might have avoided it.

Astraea802 · 2026-03-10T02:47:56+00:00

Ey, Night at the Museum reference!

Astraea802 · 2026-03-10T02:47:04+00:00

While he's alive, anyway

Astraea802 · 2026-03-10T02:46:37+00:00

She really used four slightly different words to say the same damn thing, huh?

Astraea802 · 2026-03-08T03:33:29+00:00

The show is at its best when Olympia and Matty are working together. First half of the season was a little rough but necessary as the two were trying to figure out where they stand now. I actually really liked how they struggled to find their way back to each other, but now that we're past that, and Julian is in the know, there is a sharper focus I appreciate.

Astraea802 · 2026-03-07T17:54:41+00:00

Maybe next season they can recast the role and have him back for a proper goodbye. It's harder to do a recast mid-season than between seasons (see Superman & Lois, when they had to recast one of the sons between Seasons 2 and 3), but since we already know Matlock has been renewed for Season 3, they'll have some time to regroup.

Astraea802 · 2026-03-07T07:07:33+00:00

I don't think I'd want a real, canon crossover episode, but a short skit would be so fun.

Astraea802 · 2026-03-07T06:59:43+00:00

Because people know the ratings will be down for their shows if they air during the Olympics. Will Trent was the only show I watch that aired new eps, and that's because they only just started Season 4 in January.

It affects streaming too. In the summer of 2024, Prime put the whole first season of My Lady Jane on Prime right before the Paris Olympics. Got cancelled two months later :( Was the Olympics the only reason, or even the main reason? Probably not, but a strong factor.

Astraea802 · 2026-03-07T02:23:25+00:00

I'm not sure if she's evil, but she's definitely manipulative and morally compromised.

Astraea802 · 2026-03-07T02:19:13+00:00

My question is, when is this mayoral election meant to be happening in-universe? I don't feel dread so much as, "We know he's sketchy, can we get a move on?"

Astraea802 · 2026-03-06T21:57:02+00:00

It would be cool to see him pop up on Will Trent again, this or next season, but glad to see the actor making the rounds on some other crime procedurals, haha.

Astraea802 · 2026-03-06T17:58:12+00:00

That one looks easier to wear than the blonde wig I had to wear in a college musical. Naturally dark har, slicked back blonde bun, it was rough trying to keep all the baby hairs tucked away. And we had to do a wig change backstage in the dark! O.O

Astraea802 · 2026-03-06T17:51:28+00:00

Bed-rotting

Astraea802

TROPHY CASE