Delia Grace/Hollis Brite would’ve probably made a better romance than Hollis/whatever peasant Kiera Cass intends to be the endgame.
I [Hollis] was nearly breathless from running and laughing when I finally caught her [Delia] around the waist. She held the letter out as far as she could. I might have managed to wrestle it back from her, but as I was stretching upward, my mother burst in through the doors that attached my rooms to hers.
Tell me this doesn’t have gay vibes. But Kiera is Kiera.
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That got bad quickly.
Hollis the Speshul:
I swallowed, but Delia Grace had never been one to stay silent. “Don’t you think it’s a little premature to pair Hollis with someone else? She has as good a chance as anyone at winning the king’s heart.”
Women hating on women:
My mother did her best to suppress her condescending smile. “We all know that the king’s eye is prone to wander. And Hollis isn’t quite queen material, wouldn’t you agree?” she asked with a sharply raised eyebrow, daring us to think otherwise. “Besides,” she added, “are you really in a position to talk about anyone’s potential?”
…and plenty of the ladies who I knew were waiting impatiently for Jameson to finish with me so they could have their turn. In fact, I spotted Nora looking down her nose at me with Anna Sophia and Cecily right behind her, smug in their certainty that my time was soon to end.
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Ma’am, this is just Chapter 2
“You weren’t joking about your parents,” Jameson said when we were finally alone.
“The last two people I’d invite to a party, that’s for sure.”
“And yet they made the most charming girl in the world,” he said, kissing my hand.
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As we made our way down the river, people standing on the banks stopped and bowed when they saw the standard, or called out blessings for the king. He was so poised as he nodded his head in acknowledgment, sitting as upright as a tree.
I’m trying not to cackle
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Still Chapter 2. Why are the women throwing fruit at each other in the presence of the king.
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“Hollis, what in the world are you doing?” Mother called from her boat, just loud enough to be heard above the slaps of paddles on the water.
I looked at her and replied in all seriousness, “Defending my honor, of course.” I caught Jameson’s chuckle as I turned back to Nora.
There was a stream of laughter and berries going in both directions. It was the best fun I’d had in a while until I leaned a little too far over for a rather determined throw and ended up toppling into the water.
I can’t. I can’t. I’ve seen toddlers behave better.
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“Back to shore, then,” he [Jameson aka the king] ordered, still smiling. He held me close, looking deep into my eyes. I sensed that in this moment—shoes gone, hair a mess, soaking wet—he found me irresistible. And yet, with my parents just behind him, with a dozen demanding lords hovering nearby, he was forced to settle for placing a warm kiss on my cool forehead.
THIS. IS. STILL. JUST. CHAPTER. 2.
THE. PLOT. IS. BAD. THE. WRITING. IS. BAD.
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Nora’s smile instantly faded, and she went from looking quite pleased to unimaginably irritated. “Yes, I’m sure you do. Seeing as you never had a chance of getting Jameson’s attention on your own, holding on to Hollis’s skirts is the best a girl like you could do.” She raised an eyebrow and turned. “I’d keep my grip tight if I were you.”
More women hating on women!
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End of Chapter 2 and the king has already fallen for Hollis. I have no clue how that happened or why it did.
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So... Hollis doesn’t know basic functions of the government. Like the fact that (and I’m quoting here) “The lords run their counties for the king. He is dependent upon them.”
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The king roared with laughter, drawing the attention of most of the room. I could feel the heat of a thousand eyes on me, but all I could think about were his.
Now that Rhymale exists, it physically hurts to read the word “roar” used in any context.
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This king is so dumb.
“Do you know what I want, Hollis? I want to hire someone to walk behind us and ink down every single word you say. Every compliment, every story. You are endlessly entertaining, and I don’t want to forget a second of it. I’m already looking forward to what tales I’ll hear at dinner tomorrow.”
Literally nothing has happened in the story so far to make him so enamoured with her. All she’s so far done is throw fruits at other women, fall into the river and relate one weird anecdote about how she once climbed a tree because she wanted a bird to be her mother.
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I’m still confused. WHY is Jameson so obsessed with Hollis? She’s literally done nothing memorable to garner his favour or attention.
katara basically found the avatar because she got mad at sokka
zuko fighting aang inside his ship is hilarious - aang throwin that mattress around cracks me up every time
“he’s quite agile for his old age” hahaha oh zuzu
sokka being taught feminism & the power of women by the kyoshi warriors, specifically suki = wonderful. a perfect episode to watch on international women’s day
So the first section of The Untethered Soul basically says: you’re not the voice in your head — you’re the one listening to it. Singer talks about that nonstop inner commentary like it’s an “inner roommate,” and honestly… the name fits. It’s loud, dramatic, anxious, and usually wrong.
These chapters are all about noticing that voice instead of getting dragged around by it. Just observing it. Letting it talk without letting it run your whole life.
It’s the first little step toward some actual inner peace, and honestly, I needed that.
Cast:
Richard Jordan as Joseph Armagh
Ray Bolger as R.J. Squibbs
Peter Donat as Clair Montrose
Charles Durning as Ed Healey
Celeste Holm as Sister Angela
Harvey Jason as Harry Zieff
Joanna Pettet as Katherine Hennessey
Beverly D'Angelo as Miss Emmy
and many more
Story: (aka Chapter I)
Joseph Francis Xavier Armagh and his two younger siblings Sean and Mary escape a ship on the harbor of New York. The situation ashore is problematic, jobs are scarce and food equally scarce. Aboard the ship their mother has died from disease, but they have a hope; their father is in Philadelphia awaiting them. The siblings run away, and discovers their father to be dead to, and young teenager Joseph places his siblings in an Orphanage while he himself goes to make money, become rich and get them out of poverty. The first episode follows Joseph for a few years through a series of struggles, and how he starts earning his first dollars and setting off into speculation in oil, together with his new-won friend, the Lebanese Haroun Al-Zieff (later: Harry Seff). The beginnings of a true rags-to-riches-story. —Lars-Toralf Storstrand (from IMDB again)
CAPTAINS AND THE KINGS set the template for future TV miniseries such as ROOTS and THE BASTARD, gathering together a cast of beloved veterans and intriguing newcomers in a historical fiction designed to keep audiences coming back for the next installment. Taylor Caldwell's 1972 best seller gets the sprawling treatment, broadcast over 8 weekly installments, from Sept 30-Nov 25 1976, exactly two months of gripping melodrama. We open with the teenaged Joseph Armagh watching his ailing mother die as their ship sits in New York Harbor in 1857, forced to return to Ireland due to America's intolerance for the Irish. With his younger brother and sister, Joseph secretly departs the vessel by night into the water, only to find their father's home in Philadelphia, he too deceased from pneumonia. Now determined to keep his promise to his mother to always look after his siblings, Joseph leaves them safely in the care of an orphanage run by Sister Angela (Celeste Holm), as the boy mines during the week while building a personal nest egg running liquor on Sundays for R.J. Squibbs (Ray Bolger). Four years later, at the dawn of the Civil War, the now adult Joseph (Richard Jordan) is ready to 'borrow' an investment from Squibbs to form his own company in Titusville with the help of companion Harry Zieff (Harvey Jason) and wealthy entrepreneur (and fellow Irishman) Ed Healey (Charles Durning). Ann Sothern and Neville Brand get little more than cameos, Vic Morrow again in unsympathetic mode, Joanna Pettet, Barbara Parkins, and newcomer Beverly D'Angelo (in a literally smashing debut performance) providing eye candy galore. Veteran scene stealer John Carradine kicks things off as Father Hale, whose attempts to comfort young Joseph in the wake of his mother's death are met with steely determination, a fine though brief character study for an actor so often reduced to low budget roles at this stage of his lengthy career. - by kevinolzak on IMDB
Thoughts: We mainly start with Joseph and his way to get rich and more. He takes every job he can get, even dirty one just to be paid well. Joseph wants to be the one who makes the rules and so he learns from anyone possible, in each field like oil and others. Even with reading books provided by a wealthy woman, he chooses his life and not the other way around. At the end, he goes out for another great adventure during the Civil War and it includes rifles, a lot of those. More then tomorrow!
Chapter II
Additional cast:
Pernell Roberts as Colonel Elbert Braithwaite
Robert Vaughn as Charles Desmond
Story:
A few years of successful gun running and Joseph Armagh becomes a partner in the oil company of Ed Healey. (from IMDB again)
The second chapter of CAPTAINS AND THE KINGS picks up at the start of the Civil War, Joseph Armagh (Richard Jordan) joining Clair Montrose (Peter Donat) in a spot of gun running with Colonel Elbert Braithwaite (Pernell Roberts), who cannot resist the generous graft for his certification. A year away and Joseph is back in the arms of the beautiful Martinique (Barbara Parkins), while his second hand man Harry (Harvey Jason) finds himself falling for Ed Healey's ward Miss Emmy (Beverly D'Angelo). His oil speculations are coveted by Healey so eventually the two agree to partner up, Joseph to receive one third of the profit for his efforts to consolidate the refineries, to the delight of railroad baron Charles Desmond (Robert Vaughn). Blair Brown is introduced as Healey's real life daughter Elizabeth, just returned from boarding school, sparking off a series of lustful events that leave the principals dazed and confused. - by kevinolzak on IMDB
Thoughts: Well, Joseph has learned a lot and bargains hard to get what he wants, no matter what. His little siblings are still at the orphanage where Mrs. Hennessey takes care of them as well. He loves Martinique but this woman has many secrets but protects him if needed. Harry falls in love with Miss Emmy and they make out in Joseph's room. Harry can flee but Joseph and Emmy are caught by Strickland (Joe Kapp) and Healey. Healey seems to believe them but he's not certain here. Wonder how it will go on.
Chapter III
Additional cast:
Patty Duke (Astin) as Bernadette Hennessey
Blair Brown as Elizabeth Healey
Katherine Crawford as Mary Armagh
David Huffman as Sean Armagh
George Gaynes as Orestes Bradley
Vic Morrow as Tom Hennessey
Story:
When Elizabeth Healey fails in her attempts to seduce Joseph, she decides to seduce the next attractive man she meets - Tom Hennessey.
Tom becomes a senator and Elizabeth tells him she is pregnant with his child. She proposes a plan where Tom will use his political influence to create a false marriage record for her and a friend, Everett Wickersham who has been killed in the war.
At a family dinner Ed shares the news of Elizabeth's marriage, the unfortunate death of Everett Wickersham, and the expected baby. He drinks to excess, collapses and dies.
Ed's will is extremely generous to everyone - Emmy and Martinique are now both rich women. Martinique announces that she will go to Europe and Emmy marries Harry. Joseph receives 75% of Ed's estate and Elizabeth receives 25% with instructions that Joseph will invest her money for her.
Joseph has built his own mansion in Green Hills and proposes to Elizabeth, but she says it's too late. Sean and Mary move into Joseph's new home, but Mary expresses her desire to become a nun and Sean becomes a union organizer. On her deathbed, Katherine Hennessey asks Joseph to marry her daughter, Bernadette and he agrees. (taken from here now)
Thoughts: So, good bye to Ed Healey and Joseph has reached his goal, yet his siblings, Sean and Mary are not happy with his lifestyle. Mary decides to stay at the monastery whereas Sean is working against his brother. However, Joseph has too many women at his hand and when he finally makes a decision to wed Elizabeth it's too late. He knew he was in love with Katherine but couldn't say, yet the conflict between him and her husband will escalate for sure. It will be interesting.
I have to admit it got me hooked.
Chapter IV
Additional cast:
Henry Fonda as Sen. Enfield Bassett
Richard (T.) Herd as Talmadge
Story:
Joseph quarrels with Sean over the labor union issue and with Mary over her desire to leave and enter a nunnery. He rages about their lack of gratitude for all the sacrifices he has made in his life to provide for them. He says that Sean can go to Hell and Mary can go to Jesus and severs all ties with both of them.
Alone in his big house, he now wants a family of his own and proposes marriage to Bernadette Hennessey. She understands that he does not love her, but hopes that will change once they have children.
Sean organizes a strike against Joseph's company and when the militia are called in to intervene, violence erupts and many of the strikers are killed.
Years pass and Joseph and Bernadette now have 4 children, Rory, Kevin, Anne-Marie, and Brian. Elizabeth Healey has married Tom Hennessey and Joseph vows to destroy him. Joseph uses his money and influence to expose Tom's involvement in a corruption scandal and he is politically ruined.
Sean is falsely accused of an attack on the railroad and is sentenced to hang when he is wrongly convicted. Behind the scenes, Joseph intervenes to prove Sean's innocence - to protect the family name. He begins telling others of his plan to make his son Rory the first Irish Catholic President. (taken from here again)
Thoughts: Joseph in his rage cuts all family ties to his siblings but then starts a family of his own, yet without love. Soon he has four kids and well, set his plan in action to make his eldest Rory the first Irish Catholic President - and even get him a future wife, the daughter of his friend Desmond. Oh boy, that might backfire one day. Never mind, he manages to ruin his own father-in-law but deep down, he was always in love with Elizabeh Healey. Oh my, what a complicated relationship will begin. It cannot end good.
So, I’ll stop here. The remaining four chapters will be posted soon. I think this might be better since it’s way too long anyway. There’s enough to read for you now.
TODDLER: She clearly had a talent for language, and started talking before she could walk. And then she made everybody laugh when she imitated everyone's laughter.
