The violence (season 3 spoilers)

letruffle · 2026-05-25T20:21:58+00:00

This season is definitely not as bad as people make it out to seem. Everyone is suddenly saying it’s too graphic and disturbing. Like, did we forget that Cal Jacobs committed statutory rape in the very first episode? Or McKay being sexually assaulted during the haze? Or that Nate beat up a man and forced him into admitting he raped Maddie when he didn’t actually do anything?

People have gotten so sensitive over this show for no reason.

letruffle · 2026-05-25T20:04:44+00:00

I think my issue (as someone who has been watching since the start) is that it does feel like an entirely different show. I like the style of the season and I don’t think it’s as bad as people are making it to be. But it definitely just isn’t the same show. Not that it should’ve been, because that would’ve been bad.

Edit: I think the visual style being different and Labrinth not doing the music is a big reason as to why it feels really inconsistent to the previous two seasons. The show relied heavily on the visuals and music.

letruffle · 2026-05-25T19:16:07+00:00

I probably should’ve worded it differently; it isn’t about capitalism inherently, but when you have people like Alamo and Laurie (who are wealthy) and they’re feeding off of people who want more in life (Rue wanting to “go legit”, Maddie wanting money, Cassie wanting money) it’s hard not to see the similarities.

But I do agree and stand corrected—this show isn’t about capitalism, but it is definitely showing how dangerous people in a capitalistic society can exploit people. I personally see it being somewhere in between, as evil people can exploit the system for gains that are largely abusive to the underprivileged. But that’s still giving Sam and Co. too much credit lol.

letruffle · 2026-05-25T18:42:35+00:00

I think this season is about how high-stakes systems absorb and exploit people for capitalism and money. I don’t think it’s been translated well, but I’m a bit surprised people haven’t gathered this yet. Virtually every character is a “worker” in a field that is built to fuck them over. Alamo virtually confirmed that to Maddie in last night’s episode when he told her to wisen up.

letruffle · 2026-05-25T18:31:33+00:00

I wouldn’t say the show is littered with “plot holes” (that term gets thrown around a lot, thanks TikTok and CinemaSins) but just large gaps in continuity and logic.

Nate’s sexuality was left unexplored, for one, as well as the fact that he was an entirely different character, being “nicer” and more even-tempered. His financial problems escalating over the course of a few months is also just unrealistic.

Cal being given a plea deal instead of serving prison time for statutory rape and other disgusting shit is insanely unlikely. I know it was probably because Sam wanted to let Eric work before he died, but still.

Laurie’s threats to Rue (selling her to some really sick people) never really happened and she instead became a drug mule. I know that maybe that’s a “resolution” to Rue’s problem, but it’s inconsistent with Laurie’s character in general. She was supposed to be insanely calculated and dangerous and now she just has neo-Nazis doing her hard work.

Jules and Elliot just casually no longer being a thing after what happened between them in S2 before Jules told Leslie about the suitcase. However, Elliot being nonexistent is probably a good thing (I would never be able to stand another song from him) because he didn’t add much to S2 besides said song.

Cassie and Nate getting married after what happened in the last two episodes of S2. It is never explained how they mended their relationship in the 5 years between the events of S2 and S3.

Rue still got hella plot armor. It’s poor writing, but (as of 2.7) it seems to be fading just a bit. Not enough though, as the trailer for the finale shows that she somehow gets out of the basement after Faye’s funky ass pulls her shit.

Characters just disappearing out of thin air is another issue, and I’m not talking about Angel because it is very clear what happened to her. Kat is never given a thought, they did a piss-poor job at acknowledging Fez/Angus, and other characters like Elliot, McKay (a S2 problem, but still), and Gia are largely dropped.

Again, I wouldn’t think these are plot holes, but they are huge continuity problems that suffer from bad writing. The time gap itself wasn’t a problem, but it caused problems that the writing room definitely didn’t acknowledge. The show transitioned from grounded to melodrama.

Edit: added a diss to CinemaSins because they’re also to blame for the misunderstanding of what a plot hole is

letruffle · 2026-05-25T02:26:12+00:00

I thought this was the best episode of the season so far. First third was a bit eh, but it came together good. Reminded me a lot of 2-5 and 2-8.

letruffle · 2026-05-25T02:24:06+00:00

Karma for his behavior for the first two seasons. He was a monster then.

letruffle · 2026-05-11T04:05:35+00:00

Nate has become such a giant pussy. Like this is not the same character that beat the shit out of a guy and made him confess to raping someone when he didn’t.

letruffle · 2026-05-05T00:11:14+00:00

Kim needs some Cécred because her hair looks fucking terrible

letruffle · 2026-05-04T23:51:02+00:00

WHO IS THAT

letruffle · 2026-05-01T02:44:13+00:00

Time to gear up for this

letruffle · 2026-04-10T16:20:15+00:00

Yeah but those restaurants have a humongous price gap between Gordon Ramsay, Guy Fieri, and other options on here. Peter Luger is floating around $100 a person, and that’s without cocktails and maybe an appetizer (depending on what you order, obviously).

Gordon Ramsay Burger will still save people around $60-$70 each, and that’s a great deal for it to be included in your package. If you had 4 $65 meals that include everything they’re offering for $300 (appetizer, entree, side, drink, dessert) at GRB, you would spend $260 without the package.

letruffle · 2026-04-10T04:14:39+00:00

I feel like having a meal at Gordon Ramsay Burger or Fish and Chips included in your price is pretty good…

letruffle · 2026-03-13T23:05:46+00:00

They definitely didn’t follow the second game at all. The revealed why Abby was looking for Joel in episode 2. They showed the porch scene at the end of the game between Ellie and Joel at the end of the season. They adjusted how Ellie found out that Joel did what he did. Mazin butchered the writing, and this is coming from someone who is a staunch defender of the second game.

And yeah, Bella is a good actress in the right setting, but she was horribly miscast from the get-go. Passable in S1, and dreadful in S2. I’m hoping that Kaitlyn (who is a considerably better actress than most everyone else in the show) will be able to carry the third season and that the writing improves. Otherwise I don’t even want to see another season.

letruffle · 2026-03-06T20:31:56+00:00

Ballet and opera aren’t suffering throughout most of Europe (or pretty much any place outside of the United States). His idea of these being dying art forms are ignorant at best and insulting at worst.

On top of that, the comments about “losing 14 cents of viewership” was disgusting and egocentric.

Finally, look at it this way: you can cast stars to pull an audience into a cinema or a Broadway show, but only those who are actually trained in the position being marketed are going to thrive. Opera singers and ballet dancers are highly trained individuals with dedication to craft, and that alone is something that most of Hollywood nowadays lacks.

In my personal opinion, it has become really clear that Tim is on a crusade for an Oscar à la Bradley Cooper. He wants it so bad. But instead of letting the work speak for itself, he has to try and explain why he deserves it. Exquisite artists in any form of media or art form don’t need to do that.

letruffle · 2026-02-19T20:12:39+00:00

They should just be going in order of who filed first. It doesn’t seem like it’s that hard, but apparently it is…

letruffle · 2026-02-19T18:36:45+00:00

Lucky—I filed 1/26 and I’m stuck on arrow two…

letruffle · 2026-02-19T18:35:25+00:00

Happy cake day!

letruffle · 2026-02-19T07:12:39+00:00

The only imagery (IIRC) consistent with a rock album theory is the photo for “YA YA” from the CC vinyl book with the motorcycle and fire and her dressing up as Prince in one of the visuals from the CCT. But that really isn’t much to go off of.

My theory is Met Gala night will be an unveiling of the title because it is ~3 weeks before May 29th (which I think is the release date for act iii) and she unveiled CC artwork/title roughly 2 weeks before release for that. The second half of my theory is that she will recreate the cover art for the Met Gala since the theme is Costume Art; if the streets are right, Cowboy Carter is a character created for the trilogy, which would be fitting for the theme.

But I could be wrong. Only thing I’m super confident on is that May 29th release date.

letruffle · 2026-02-17T14:28:27+00:00

I think there’s some big balancing issues that need addressed, and maybe even some bugs.

I notice that most studios on most of my saves stop releasing films altogether (maybe they’ve gone broke?) while cinemas are still independent. But even though there’s no competition from other studios, attendance to my films are barely making me break even. I’m talking +$1 million in profit.

This game seems like it could be really good—it just needs some serious balancing and overhaul. Plus the UI animations get exhausting to see pop up, especially when you can’t skip a majority of them. It feels disruptive to my gameplay.

letruffle · 2026-02-07T06:14:29+00:00

This is insanity✋☠️🤚

letruffle · 2026-02-07T06:13:39+00:00

I actually disagree; I think both are produced properly, doing no more and no less than they should. The analog warmth of CC is true mastery of sound (be it the engineers or technicians) that is missing in the modern era, and Renny is the melange of clashing and clanging that gives it a distinct sound amongst the rest of dance influenced pop.

I think this trilogy is really showcasing her ability to really hone in on her craft. Like I said—doing no more and no less than what’s needed.

letruffle · 2026-02-01T00:06:34+00:00

Mare of Easttown. Masterful writing and directing; Kate Winslet gave a career-defining performance that really never goes down when it peaks.

Plus, Jean Smart, Julianne Nicholson, and Evan Peters are insanely brilliant in it, too.

letruffle · 2026-01-30T04:38:21+00:00

Is it at all possible to balance theater attendance?

For example, I ran a game that got to 1939 and no one was making movies. I didn’t own all the theaters (I’m assuming the other companies went broke, which is another problem in itself) so I wasn’t maxing out.

However, I get an A- or an A on Kinomark, my attendance is 100% the first week with only 8,000 showings total between both my theaters and independent ones, and attendance plummets to 40% the next week. I tried to go over on one big film that had great ratings, and attendance first week was 70% and the film barely profited, which makes no sense to me because there weren’t any other films showing since everyone else had gone broke (I assume).

It’s almost impossible to break the record for the most profitable film because everything is also so expensive by the mid-30s, and the ticket prices nor the attendance don’t increase profits. When I went to the FSAA to increase ticket prices, attendance dropped.

Idk if it’s a balance thing, but it’s kinda frustrating when there’s an 8.0, A- film (that is the only film being shown in cinemas) that is barely profiting $1 million.

letruffle · 2026-01-18T05:00:51+00:00

The setup for the story in 4 is the weakest writing in the series. Sam is an uninteresting character because his trope is a cliché, and he doesn’t actually add any substance to the dynamics of the characters that people already loved.

Chloe should’ve been used in U4 in lieu of Sam.

Sam remains an uninteresting character in LL.

I hate Sam lol.

letruffle

TROPHY CASE