Yeah, I'm pretty sure it's a retcon. I'm fine with it, but those WTF moments start to pile up.

This thread is now officially a support group.

Okay, I think it's time for everyone to talk out our feelings together.

My thoughts on this one are complicated, and probably incomplete, so I'm relying on y'all to help me pick this thing apart.

My initial thoughts, off the top of my head:

• It's a typically messy RTD finale, probably less than the sum of its parts, which is pretty much what I expected it to be.
• There's unfortunately very little to talk about when it comes to the Rani/Omega plot. I'm left wondering if the "new" Rani regenerated in the Underverse. I'm glad the Mrs. Flood version survived to reappear another day, but I'm surprised that they didn't do more with her testy relationship with her counterpart.
• The Poppy story...huh. They actually did a pretty good job of taking something that I was not invested in at all when it started to unfold, and turning it into something that I genuinely felt bad about by the end. The bit with the Doctor and Belinda passing the coat back and forth as it faded away was very well done.
• And leaving Ruby as the one person who can remember "old" realities gives her an extra air of tragedy, as well. Millie Gibson played it very well.
• I absolutely loved seeing Thirteen again.
• And that ending...well, that's going to suck all of the oxygen out of the discourse for the next X years, so I guess I'll keep it brief. I'm not against it, but I'm skeptical. That said, I don't think it's something that RTD would do lightly, and he must have an idea of why he's doing it.

Open the floodgates. I need this.

Balfe has a load of high visibility (audibility?) credits to his name

Wow, you ain't kidding. His work with Zimmer is definitely the stuff that stands out in my mind, but he's done a number of high-profile solo projects, as well.

It's good enough that the official DW account makes an appearance in the comments. I also saw a comment that claimed it can all be done with a synthesizer or something.

WPG @ SSK

I wasn't able to catch this one, but the important thing from the Bombers' perspective is that it sounds like Streveler did pretty okay as QB.

Looking forward to the real thing getting going...for Winnipeg, in Week 2.

I didn't realize there were people who stopped thinking about Dugga Doo.

The folks at Winnipeg Sports Talk had a somewhat (okay, much) more cynical take, largely based on the fact that Maurice has participated in handshake lines as recently as last year, is known for being good in front of the media, and managed to talk about how this is all about the players for a solid two minutes.

Their take, not mine. I've got a lot of affection for PoMo, but admittedly that is precisely because he's so good in front of a microphone.

Edit: Timestamp of the conversation.

Captain or no, I don't think there's any evidence that he had any knowledge of what was going on, is there?

Chevy is much more heavily implicated in that mess, even though he was found to have been "not responsible for the improper decisions made by the Chicago Blackhawks".

Return Revenge of the Ponds!

“[The Rani's] brilliant, she’s unapologetic, and she’s totally out of sync with any moral compass.”

“She’s a wild force. She’ll burn anyone or anything to get what she wants, dancing with chaos like it’s her birthright.”

I'm liking what I'm hearing here.

I have to admit, I had suspected that we might not actually see Omega - or it would be a menacing cameo like Timothy Dalton's Rassilon - but it sounds like that might not be the case.

I think that's the general idea according to CentrePlan 2050, but I'm also a little unclear as to whether the entire stretch will be pedestrians/active transportation-only.

Oh good, WPG/SSK is exclusive to CFL+ again. If last week is any indication, I look forward to reading about it after the fact.

I haven't been a regular transit user for a long time, but I hope this transition goes smoothly. Large-scale changes rarely do...

The improvement in quality, from the script to the overall production values, is stunning.

The tauntaun has left the nest.

Roughriders @ Bombers

I actually tried to stream this one, but the CFL website was having none of it, so I...didn't. And absolutely no one seems willing to put together a highlight reel.

Based on what I've read, it sounds like it went...fine? I'm glad the Bombers played Collaros - it's good for him to get some reps, especially with the upcoming one-game suspension. It sounds like the game itself might have been a bit of a snoozer, but that's preseason for you.

Fair enough, I don't want to try too hard to change anyone's mind on issues like this, because I completely respect the perspective.

What I can say is that the admin team of this instance has zero tolerance (if I could make it less than zero, I would) for any kind of harassing behaviour.

I've also been reasonably pleased with the way Lemmy's tools have expanded and evolved over the past couple of years, so I would never write anything off for the future.

And in more extreme cases of cross-instance abuse...there's more behind-the-scenes communication between instance admins than you may think!

Gibson told us: "[Ruby's] mission is to take down Conrad. Whether she completes that mission or not, is to be told.

"However, I think after giving him that mercy in episode 4, taking down the Shreek instead of him, it's almost like an extra stab at the heart that he's just created this fake world where he is the king. It's like seeing your ex be Prime Minister or something! It would just be horrific.

Okay, I think this is fun. It's always nice when the characters have slightly different motivations, which could put them at cross-purposes with each other.