Season 1 | Episode 5 | “House Rules” | Aired Oct 23, 2015

Here’s the good news, The Player fans: Alex Kane finally found his ex-wife, Ginny Lee. The bad news is, Alex finally found his ex-wife.

After Alex (Philip Winchester) escorted him safely to the Indian consulate, hacker Solomon (Nik Dodani) thanked him by revealing that the erroneous dates Alex had noticed attached to several old photos were concealing a phone number. When Alex called that hidden number—the one with a Las Vegas area code—his missing ex-wife, Ginny Lee (Daisy Betts) answered.

In their first conversation since he had found her apparently shot dead in her bedroom, Ginny told Alex that she knew nothing about where she was, who had taken her, or what those people wanted, saying that he shouldn’t try and find her before hanging up. As a desperate Alex called the number back only to find it immediately disconnected, the audience discovered that Ginny might not have been entirely truthful: she told her off-screen captors that she’d done everything they’d asked, so when could she go home?

This scene was a big shocker, and not for the fact that it confirmed that Ginny is alive; that’s been implied since the very first episode. It’s this week’s Play of the Game because it changes the game as we know it.

One of the great aspects of The Player is that it almost entirely keeps the series in Alex’s point of view. The audience is privy to a handful of scenes that don’t involve him, but the majority of the show and its major reveals have all come through Alex. We’re taking the journey that he’s taking, which includes finding things out as he finds things out, and seeing things the way that he sees them. Our point of view on Ginny, because of her obvious importance to him and all those near sugar shock-inducing flashbacks to their happier days, is Alex’s point of view. We know her as the woman he still loves, who still has some feelings for him, and oh my gosh look at how cute they used to be.

But one phone call and that perception has been completely thrown up for debate.

“I have done everything that you have asked” is one loaded line out of Ginny’s mouth. It implies she’s been knowingly involved, either through persuasion or some degree of force, in everything we’ve seen so far in The Player‘s short history. She may not have done so entirely of her own volition—obviously she’s being held somewhere that she doesn’t want to be—but she isn’t just the passive victim that we’ve believed up until this point. She knows what’s been going on, and she’s been a participant in it.

If you really want to put the screws to her, that could go back as far as her introduction in the pilot episode, which now looks mighty suspicious. Think about it: Ginny’s been overseas for a while, then makes the decision to return to Las Vegas and her old hospital, and wastes absolutely no time in flirting with her ex-husband, getting him back into bed (or actually the shower), and talking about giving their marriage another try. It’s no secret that Alex still has feelings for her; just before he meets her, Cal (Damon Gupton) talks about how he hasn’t signed the divorce papers and still helps her around the house.

It’d be too easy for Ginny to walk back into Alex’s life, get him wrapped around her finger and start the whole chain of events that’s put him where he is today. After all, what got him dragged into “the game” was her apparent murder and what made him change his mind about becoming “the player” was the realization that she was still alive.

Since then, someone’s been leaving clues for Alex to find regarding her whereabouts—the lack of her tattoo on the fake corpse, the SD card hidden in another photo. The assumption has been that it was Ginny or at least a friend, but now, how do we know all those clues weren’t intentionally planted? If she did it, one would think she had help; how many doctors do you know who’d also be able to hide phone numbers in digital photo date stamps? That raises the worry of just who has been dropping these hints, and what they’ve been expecting to gain from them. Right now, the only thing they’ve done by allowing Alex to speak to Ginny, is make him royally ticked off.

So is Ginny still a force for good in Alex’s life, or has she been turned by whoever’s pulling the strings? And who is running this elaborate scheme? Those are questions we’re going to have to puzzle out as the season goes on. But one thing’s for sure—by just planting that seed of doubt and making us reconsider the most basic elements of the story we believed to be true, The Player has definitely raised the stakes yet again.

The Player airs Thursdays at 10 p.m.on NBC.

Season 3 | Episode 5 | “The Little Merman” | Aired Oct 21, 2015

It’s finally happened! The cast of MTV’s Are You the One? has found a perfect match on this week’s episode. It may have taken them five rounds and one blackout (they lost $250,000 after getting no matches), but they did it. Could this be the spark they need to build momentum? Only time will tell, but with the history of this cast, the outlook could be grim.

Picking up from last week’s Matchup Ceremony misstep, the Are You the One? cast is trying to laugh off their latest disappointment. Four weeks in, they’ve never cracked more than three perfect matches. Many of the players are starting to realize that they’re really bad at this game. While some are drinking the night away, a few of the fake couples are dealing with their own drama.

Kayla is upset with Connor. She doesn’t like the way he talks about their relationship, especially since they know they’re not a match. She even hits him because of her frustration. Hannah, on the other hand, is willing to give Chuck a second chance. He drifted away last week after flirting with Britni, but she has feelings for him. She’s willing to leave it in the past, just this once.

The following day at the challenge, the girls are put to the test to see how badly they really want to go on the date. In a challenge called “Anything for Love,” the girls must compete in three disgusting rounds (the top two girls left at the end get to go on the group date). Each challenge is more disgusting than the next! The girls had to dunk their hands in a bucket of squids, drink five shots of hot sauce, eat a plate of pigs’ feet, and bob for apples in fish chum. One by one, the girls are eliminated, until only Chelsey and Rashida are left standing. Chelsey, as the first winner, chooses Connor as her date and selects Nelson as Rashida’s date.

The two girls, along with their lucky dates, go to the ocean to enjoy some together time. Chelsey is positive that Connor is her match, while Nelson is too distracted with his dating drama. He still has feelings for Cheyenne, even though she’s not his match. Rashida is left to try to convince him that she could be his match.

Back at the house, the rest of the Are You the One? cast votes for one of the two couples to go into the Truth Booth. They overwhelmingly vote for Chelsey and Connor, as they’re the most likely perfect match. Chelsey and Connor head into the Truth Booth, which reveals: PERFECT MATCH! They’re the first perfect match of the season and will be whisked away for some alone time, only to return during Matchup Ceremonies.

Even with the reveal of a new love connection, the drama in the house is still affecting the fake couples. Hannah has forgiven Chuck, and they’ve decided to enjoy time in the “Boom Boom Room” to celebrate their relationship. However, it wasn’t enough for him. He and Britni continue their flirtation from last week, and they share a passionate makeout session in the backyard—right in front of Hannah! She’s done and wants nothing to do with him.

Nelson, meanwhile, is handling his problems head-on. After finding out that Cheyenne and Zak made out, his temper gets out of hand. He confronts the pair and wants the truth about the kiss. Cheyenne and Zak admit the truth and Nelson storms off, leaving some destruction in his wake. (He broke the door handle!)

At the Matchup Ceremony, it’s the women’s turn to choose. Since Chelsey and Connor are a confirmed match, the group will always start with one beam of light. However, if they fail to get any other additional lights, they will “blackout” and lose $250,000. The Ceremony continues as planned, but Cheyenne takes a moment to say what all the women are thinking. She calls out the men for their disrespectful behavior to the women and demands they all work together—otherwise, they’ll lose together. It’s a powerful moment in Are You the One? and a reality check that many of the players need.

MATCHUP CEREMONY

• CONFIRMED: Chelsey and Connor.
• Melanie chooses Hunter.
• Britni chooses Mike.
• Stacey chooses Alec.
• Kayla chooses Zak.
• Rashida chooses Nelson.
• Cheyenne chooses Devin.
• Hannah chooses Austin.
• Kiki chooses Chuck.
• Amanda chooses Tyler.

PERFECT MATCHES: 2/10!
No change with this week’s Matchup Ceremony. In fact, it may have sent them a step backwards. Chelsey and Connor are now confirmed, so the group needs to make sure they always get at least one correct pairing when the time comes for making matches. From the looks of the choices, the next half of the season is going to be a long road.

LEADS, CLUES & PREDICTIONS

• Now that Chelsey and Connor are a confirmed match, it means they are one of the two confirmed matches from the first ceremony. This means Britni and Hunter, Kayla and Zak, or Stacey and Alec must be the second confirmed match.

Are You the One?airs Wednesdays at 10/9C on MTV.

Season 12| Episode 5| “Guess Who’s Coming to Dinner?” | Aired Oct 22, 2015

That. Woman. That woman, Penny, (sort of) single-handedly tried to ruin Grey’s Anatomy. Okay, so that’s dramatic. Penny didn’t do it alone—it was pretty much that neuro consult that killed Derek, but that’s not enough this week. And even with Dr. Shepherd dead, it’s not like Grey’s was ever ruined, but at the end of the day, Penny is a controversial girl … a controversial girl that Meredith knew about and that we knew about it, but no one else. That is, until tonight. Let’s chitchat about what happened.

Confident hair
Before we get full-blown bucknasty about that life-ruiner, Penny, it’s time to discuss that trainwreck of a woman, Maggie. Maggie Pierce and I are arguably the same person. Why do I say that? Exhibit A: She walked up to a doctor, despite being an intelligent woman who understands medicine, and asked for an STD and HIV test no more than 48 hours after her coitus (and bonus coitus) with Dr. DeLuca/DeLicious. Lo and behold, the doctor she gets is Dr. DeLuca. It’s a super-cute moment between them, because they stop having sex for a minute and just get to know each other. The best line? “Your hair is very confident. It reaches out to people.” Oh, Maggie. Never change.

Pretty Penny killed my husband (please pass the peas)
When Meredith and Penny finally get to exchange notes this episode, Mer goes full Tyra Banks and essentially tells Penny to stay quiet. Even from a mile away, it’s clear that a small confrontation is not enough, but for a while, Penny and Meredith danced around each other. For most of the night, Meredith holds back her resentment for Callie bringing Penny, but as the conversation turns to Penny and the fact that she’ll be transferring her residency to Grey-Sloan Memorial, the truth begins to bubble out. At the head of the table, Meredith very calmly says, “Pretty Penny killed my husband.” The entire table freezes, and Meredith repeats herself, vaguely explains the situation, and then asks April to pass the peas because the food is getting cold. It’s the outcome that everyone was waiting for all episode.

Before I kill her
Okay, here we are. Since Derek died, I’ve been making the case that Amelia has been rolling a little too far into the deep, but no one has agreed. But as the Penny drama escalated to new heights, Meredith finally steps into place. When Amelia begins to break down and say, “We’ll get that bitch fired,” Meredith hits her peak and begins to lose it, saying that she has to be strong for her three kids, but that Amelia is falling apart. She yells at Owen to get Amelia out of her room before she kills her. Finally, viewers get proof that Meredith is still our Meredith—a strong, powerful woman who is still very much mourning her husband, even if that dark-and-twisty side is a couple layers deep now.

Tequila!
Meredith and Alex sit in her room with a bottle of tequila after the big announcement, and Meredith tells him to go. Alex asks what she’s going to do if he leaves, and she points to the bottle and smiles. They take turns taking shots out of the bottle until Callie interrupts and asks Meredith how she is. She responds, “Great,” and then shuts the door again with her foot. There’s not a lot of dialogue, but there’s so much that’s said between Alex and Meredith without words, because when you’re in each other’s lives that long and accumulate so much history, sometimes all you need is a glance and a shot of José, am I right?

Notes from the O.R. Board:

• “Stop trying to make us even, Jo, because we’re not even.” –Stephanie to Jo, spitting a painful truth-bomb. Get it, girl.
• “I’ll see you Monday. Don’t be late.” –Meredith to Penny, literally being the biggest person ever.
• Speaking of Meredith being the bigger person, I feel like she’s done more than enough. Let’s not keep Penny on the show, okay?
• Drunk Arizona was my world tonight. Arizona should be drunk every episode.

Y’all. That was a heavy hour, but such a necessary hour. And now we’re stuck with Penny, like … well, an actual penny. Sometimes you have to take off your recapping hat and put on your personal hat, and just let the world know that you don’t love the idea of having Penny around. You don’t love that this woman who kind of killed a main character gets to hang around. It will take some getting used to. How much did you love Meredith though? And Alex, too. He’s our guy now.

Grey’s Anatomyairs on Thursdaysat8/7ConABC.