This is a bramble Jam podcast.

Welcome to Girls Gone Hallmark, a homemark review podcast.

I'm Megan and I'm a longtime homemark fan.

On today's episode, we are going to be discussing the Chicken Sisters season two episode six, titled A Woman Always Knows, y'all, and today I am flying so low.

I had teased last week that we were going to be joined by a very special co host this week, and Wendy was going to be making her Chicken Sisters season two review debut.

Wendy is so sick, y'all, so I'm flying solo on today's episode.

Let's get into it.

First of all, as of yesterday, K did drop their countdown to Christmas schedule for this season.

There were some surprises on that schedule.

The full schedule, all of the dates, all of the movies, some great photos are on our website, Girls Gonehollmark dot com.

That post is pinned right up top.

We also created a printable schedule to go along with that, so you can print that out keep track of the movies all season long.

Check that out at Girls Gonehollmark dot com.

Let's talk the Chicken Sisters season two episode six.

This episode was directed by Jackie Gold.

The writer is Monoegopian and you mon' remember a few episodes back, I mentioned that I had heard Mono on a podcast and they introduced him as one of the writers on The Chicken Sisters, And because the name was in my head, I kept seeing him in the opening credits, credited as a story editor for some of these episodes, while I was so excited to see that he is the writer on this episode for no reason other than I'm rooting for this complete stranger.

So congratulations Mono on your writing credit on this episode of The Chicken Sisters.

First impression of this episode is this episode is as hectic as the chain of command at City Hall.

I'm going to take a quick break and come back and talk about what I liked about this episode.

All right, let's talk what we liked about this episode.

What I really liked about this episode is we have some things that have been kind of simmering for a long time that finally come to the forefront, and we get a few new dynamics, new characters returning even to keep it lively, we have some really dramatic moments, like that tornado montage, which we will talk about in a minute, and we still get some of those quirky, little small town moments.

The humor that I really like about the show also huge focus on the independence of these women.

I have some feedback to share from a listener about that, So let's talk Amanda's art.

I love that she's getting some recognition.

She's finally getting something that's her own.

She's not just one of the Chicken sisters.

That's something that she came into through her family, through her marriage.

Her art is something that we've seen is important to her, and she's finally getting some recognition for it.

I like that we see her wrestle with imposter syndrome.

She can't totally believe people are interested in seeing her work.

It's very relatable.

The tension that we get with her wanting to express herself artistically and also feeling maybe like calling herself an artist.

Is this bridge too far?

Is a really interesting dynamic.

Nancy for me, has the absolute best storyline in this entire episode.

This is a banner episode for her.

When she yells at Frank Junior for burning bridges instead of building them.

That was a much needed moment for her, and then she confronts Clayton.

I'm so glad she did it.

I loved May's confrontation of Clayton too, but Nancy's We already know that May is a strong independent woman.

When Nancy gives it to Clayton in her defensive guests, I loved it.

Plus, Nancy has the added bonus of having known Clayton since their youth.

She spent so much time in her life in this series being a peacekeeper, and now we're seeing her really stand up in her own voice and stand up for the people who are important to her.

Gruster is back.

Honestly, I had kind of forgotten about him in the beginning of the season.

I was hoping we would see him.

I loved that hint of a romance we were seeing between Gruster and Sabrina at the end of last season.

But he's such a refreshing presence in the show and another man in this universe who does not suck, which is unfortunately rarer than it should be.

He comes back, there's no fanfare, he just hops right into things.

My absolute favorite part of this episode is the Tornado montage.

It's a real standout.

It's very dramatic, Nancy begging the people in the town hall to ring the alarm while May is stuck in the storm.

I mean, the metaphor does beat you over the head a little bit there, but I did feel like they gave us a strong sense of urgency.

I do kind of wish that they had moved Gus out of that bed after having the discussion about the tree being very dangerous but nevertheless very dramatic.

It did make the stakes feel quite high, and it pushed people like Nancy to make some decisions that we would not have seen them make in recent history.

My silent co host on this episode is listener Paula, who sent us an email about this episode.

Paula's a big fan of the show, has been since season one, and she's always been pushing us to see some of the deeper themes in this show.

And so, Paula, you didn't know this, but you are my co host for this episode, and I would like to share some of Paula's thoughts.

Paula says, I love how Amanda and Nancy, who both did the right thing in quotation marks by marrying poor, are asserting their independence while the independent and successful May and Sabrina have found reliable strong men to help them.

I love how Gruster just came back and went to work.

It was so fun to watch.

I agree with all of that.

I love that perspective of Counteract.

I love that perspective of the contrast between Amanda and Nancy and Sabrina and Guster and how that's manifesting in their lives now.

One of my favorite things about this show are the small moments of humor, and in this episode that is no exception.

We get Sergio reading Shauna's smut to Dus.

It's a perfect mix of hilarious and also slightly awkward, and our town renaissance woman Shauna popping up is the process server.

I love that the show uses her for these surprise, little comic moments.

There really is no shortage of ways in which she can pop up, and it's a running bit that could have run out of usefulness, and I think they've used it appropriately in this season.

Let's talk wishes.

My two wishes are for my two least favorite characters in this show to see themselves out.

First of all, Clayton, what an absolute disappointment.

I have seen the writing on the wall for this man all season long.

I have question whether or not his intentions were true.

We saw hints of it in last episode, and it seems very clear that Clayton is a big old disappointment.

He refers to Gus's MS as her situation, like it's just a minor inconvenience before they can jet off together.

It was just downright cruel.

He has the bedside manner of a rock.

Calling him the worst nurse is not an exaggeration.

They painted a very clear picture of a man who was not here for a family.

He was not here to be a partner.

He was looking for a good time, looking for a second act in life, and hoping to perhaps have someone along by his side, but only as it fit his needs.

Frank Junior, the man has absolutely no remorse.

And as much as I said I'm not interested in a Frank Junior redemption story and I wouldn't really even buy one, there is a part of me that would like to see him feel a little bit sorry.

We do still have two episodes left in this season.

One of my favorite lines comes from listener Paula's email, who says the cluckery being that packed with men was very creepy.

Honestly, I'm glad she sent this email.

Because all I noticed was the big line.

But when I went back and rewatched that scene, it's just a big line of men waiting outside to support Frank Junior's new enterprise now that the chicken does not suck.

Unfortunately, Frank Junior still does in did you see that moments?

I would really like to know why on earth we are setting up the wedding so far in advance.

At an outdoor wedding, those chairs need to go up the day of, even in the best weather.

They're going to wake up and be dewy from sitting out overnight.

They'll be blown over, covered in dirt.

While I understand the purpose of the metaphor setting up an outdoor wedding days in advance, it's still unclear to me exactly when May's wedding is going to be.

But setting up these outdoor chairs at least days in advance didn't make a whole lot of sense to me, other than as a vehicle to get Frankie and Lindsay together, to get Gruster along, to help out to have that great moment where May stands in the wreckage of her wedding.

I'm curious to see how the wedding will pivot going forward?

Small digit see that question?

Is this town going to be pastor less while Bo travels He's going to be gone for several months.

This is a small town.

He seems to be the one and only pastor in town.

What are we doing to fill that hole?

My last did you see that is does this town really not have a contingency for if the mayor is unavailable to activate the tornado siren?

Because while I understand his heart attack moment was quite dramatic and it took him out of the place, there are any number of reasons why he might be unreachable, super innocuous ones.

So this town needs to have a better chain of command.

We have that scene earlier in the episode where may is trying to get her marriage license and her name is spelled incorrectly, and so they can't do I don't understand why they cannot just retype the license, fix the train arm, have a contingency plan.

People, Is Nancy going to be the new mayor?

I don't know, my feathered friend of the week, it should come as no surprise.

Is our girl Nancy hands down, She finds her voice, she stands her ground, She refuses to let the men around her keep bulldozing her.

She's really been a good girl for too long, and watching her step into her power is super satisfying.

Thank you for listening to this short and sweet episode of Girls Gone Hallmark, a Bramble Jam podcast.

If you love this podcast, we love your five star ratings and reviews.

You can leave them right in the podcast app you are listening to us in Right now.

We'll be back next time with more Hallmark reviews.

Goodbye.

All right friends, before we go, just a quick heads up.

You're about to hear some ads.

Thee little gems help us keep the show running and the Hallmark love flowing.

So do with that info what you will, Grab a snack, hit the skip button, or maybe just maybe listen in and discover your new favorite product.

Bye.