riff-raff

I just watched the first episode. I'm trying to keep an open mind, but my initial impressions aren't great. Not loving the new host, voice-over guy, and . . . cheapness (?) feel of the production. It all seems a bit second rate. But, I will keep watching, as these show ultimately come down to what I think of the contestants, and I don't have a good feel for that yet. And, ouch. Are those swimsuits comfortable? I would be constantly worried about showing too much/waxing issues.

That woman is really insightful. Her take on Brandon seemed spot on. If she is right, this might be the worst casting decision this year, pairing up someone with a dude that has a bad temper and no coping or relationship skills. There is something just off to me about Brandon. His mailed-in insincere vows ("I knew for the moment I saw you" he reads from a pre-written script), the grabbing of the cake, those expressionless eyes and monotone voice. I was hoping it was just nerves at the wedding, but is looking more and more like poor Taylor got stuck with a nut job. Let's just hope its not a violent nut job. And I agree with her that they really did Mindy a disservice. I don't see her as "thirsty" for Zach. She is embarrassed, awkward and disappointed, but still trying to hold out some hope. I think one of the reasons the producers seem to delight in casting the physical mismatches is for the "entertainment" value in seeing how people are going to cope with a really, really uncomfortable situation. I'm sure the producers were not at all concerned about triggering Mindy's insecurities, but rather hopeful of doing so. To be fair, it puts Zach in an uncomfortable spot as well, but since he came onto the show reeking with insincerity (hello, Instagram), I'm less worried about him. I would also love to hear his answer to a question I assume (hope?) that ask all potential contestants -- how will you handle it if you are not physically attracted to the person who pair you with.

I agree with this. I think the producers wanted the drama of a mismatch. Given how it's playing out, it's too bad Mindy is so earnest. When he first told her that he didn't find her attractive, she should have just laughed and said, "that's your loss," and set about to ignore him as best she could, and enjoy her time in Panama.

I think its quite possible that she thought he was handsome when she first saw him, but now no longer finds him attractive. Narcissism, inability to string together a coherent sentence, and telling someone that "you aren't my type" are big turn-offs. Add that to the fact that the sun and the Panama heat are not doing his looks any favors. He starting to look mottled and greasy to me. I agree with everyone who said this was a big casting mistake. It was obvious that Zach was looking for more conventional arm-candy. Had he been a bit more flexible, or had Mindy been a bit more self-confident and fun-loving, there was a slim chance that it might have worked, or at least worked well enough to make a plausible story line for the show. But with these personalities, no. I'm sure enormous pressure is put on these folks not to call it quits right away but, with these two, I see no point. It's never going to work and we all know it.

I'm not sure if 4 times in a windmill constitutes only being "slightly" used.

Two days ago in a beach town, I saw a young man wearing the uber-tight capris along with leather shoes and no socks. Yes, I thought, this really is the fashion of the young. I'm kind of gleeful, actually. It's about time men felt the stress of all these ridiculous, uncomfortable clothes the fashion industry likes to thrust upon us. In a couple of years, when everyone's budget is blown on these trendy clothes, and everyone's feet stink from wearing leather shoes without socks, Big Fashion will roll out baggy trousers and anyone trying to get one last wear out of those stupid capris will look like a rube.

You raise a good point. I have more of a problem with this aspect of his personality than the so-called slut-shaming or "stalker" behavior. It's a pretty arrogant thing to say. I've done my share of defending Luke, but I can see there are issues with him too. If he takes away anything from this experience, it should be that he needs to learn to listen to, and respect, other people's viewpoints. One part of gaining maturity is realizing that you don't know everything, and that you and your feelings are not the center of the universe.

I may be showing my age, as perhaps cultural norms have changed, but when I was younger, I don't think I ever ended a relationship without the guy coming back or calling a couple of times trying to convince me I was wrong. Some of those conversations were pretty intense with a lot of focus on what the guys wanted and needed. I did not find it particularly pleasant to keep explaining that the relationship is over. However, I did not consider the guy to be a psychopath or stalker. I've also had repeated calls/sending flowers, etc., after declining a first or second date with a guy. I've never enjoyed unwanted persistence, but one or two second attempts did not equate to stalker territory in my mind. While I would have respected Luke a LOT more, had he simply left the first time he was asked, I'm loath to label him a monster without more information. I think some of the dynamic here was that Hannah was not sure of her decisions and sent mixed signals. When Luke was "allowed to come back" the first time, she gave him more roses, went to visit his family, and continued having hot and heavy make out sessions with him. These do not seem like the typical actions of someone who truly wants a relationship to end. The other dynamic was that I think production was encouraging Luke's persistence. If he was being told that Hannah had second thoughts, that she told them that "he was the one," etc., he returning seems less crazy. In fact, if Luke really was some sort of psychopath -- and production had a lot more opportunities to truly know him -- to allow him continued access to Hannah and engineer his "returns," verges on criminal conduct. No, I think production saw an emotional,"prideful" and unsophisticated person they could easily manipulate for their desired story line. I also think the reason they sold that storyline so hard, and that it dominated the season as it did, was because Hannah simply didn't give them much else to work with. She is not an articulate person or interesting conversationalist and she could not carry the role of the show's narrator as leads usually do. She didn't seem to have the ability to draw other men to her and form credible relationships with them. The most passion any of these guys felt was their shared hatred of Luke.

That was unpleasant to watch. An angry mob of people caught up in their own sense of righteous rage is a scary thing. Watching that, I can understand how cruel punishments like putting people in stocks and public stonings took hold. Save Matteo, there was no sense of "enough is enough." Tyler, at least, watching from home, had the sense to recognize the ugliness and try to back away from it. The look of malice on Hannah's face as she laid into Luke at the MTA changed my opinion of her. It's one thing to be immature and foolish. It's another thing to relish and delight in hurting someone, and continuing to kick them when they are down. I remember in Colton's season, she initiated a spat with the other pageant girl, Catelyn I think her name was. When asked about it, Catelyn said something to the effect that she and Hannah got along great until something set her off and things went completely south. Here she went from making out with Luke and swooning about his kissing during one half the date, to screaming with rage and giving him the finger a few hours later. If she didn't appreciate that Luke was hoping for a woman who shared his desire to abstain until marriage, there were many ways to get that point across without screaming and swearing. To be clear, I didn't appreciate Luke's returning and then refusing to leave. It was uncomfortable, and his behavior definitely merited some anger and push back. But I never saw him engage in casual cruelty or delight in hurting or belittling someone like I saw from Hannah and her bro-pack. There was a lot of screeching about how Luke needed to improve himself. Maybe these folks should spend some time examining themselves.

Even bad seasons are good seasons. I've enjoyed the interesting and varied posts here about what makes a person insecure, good-looking or religious. My take away from this seasons is that they ended up with a perfect storm in the form of Luke and Hannah. It was a volatile mix of two very intense and immature people put in a very unnatural situation designed to stoke and exacerbate extremes., Taking Luke first. From almost the first minute he claimed to be in love with Hannah. Having such deep emotions for a total stranger is, IMO, not normal. Couple that with the fact that Luke is a very high energy, intense person, his professed love was like a hot laser beam focused squarely on Hannah. It would have sent me running for the hills. But I'm not Hannah. For Hannah, that laser beam of Luke's attention was a wondrous thing. It make her feel good, secure. She was attractive and wanted! She said this week that Luke was the closest thing to "love at first sight" she had ever experienced. It was sizzle or his intense desire meeting her intense need to be loved. That energy and intensity he exudes was not a problem for her, as she is the same way. Her giving Luke the first impression rose sealed things in Luke mind. He was right! She was one! There could be no other reality for him. The show would have unfolded very differently, I think, if she had not given Luke the first rose. It was never going to be a stable connection, particular in a situation like this. As Hannah gained confidence and began enjoying other men, Luke's confidence that he had found the one, took on an increasingly desperate quality. His attentions became exhausting, his need for Hannah to validate their love more vocal. At the point Hannah knew she was developing real feeling for others, she should have cut Luke loose. And, she did try. But a combination of production pressure and Hannah's own desire to feel Luke's "sure thing" affections drew things out far too long. I don't think either Luke or Hannah are awful people, just immature and exhausting. Luke is rather hard-headed and too intense for my liking, but I did not see enough to make me conclude he would be an abusive and controlling husband. What I enjoyed least about the Luke and Hannah show was the dog-piling on Luke by the remaining contestants. I've never enjoyed seeing a group of people ostracize and demean an individual, even the the individual in question has some issues. It is an ugly group dynamic and it made me think less of the men. Having Jed call out Luke as liar and manipulator was particularly rich. Tyler went from hot, to not, for me when he belittled Luke for his height. Garrett came across as a pot-stirrer and tattle tale. Again, I blame the environment and production in part, for this. I am not looking forward to the MTA. I would love it to see some human grace and charity all around to close out the season, but that is not going to happen.

It sounds like a match made in heaven.

What a weird set of hometowns. I can't recall a season where there has been less genuine interest in the lead. You have to wonder if Luke wasn't there, how even more lackluster the pursuit of Hannah might have been. The main incentive that Jed and Tyler seemed to have at this point is to outlast Luke. Other than Luke himself, I did not see any type of real connection between Hannah and anyone else. The smile of relief that Mike was trying to hide in the limo last week spoke volumes. He must have been so relived he did not have to keep up the charade for hometowns and drag is family into it.

I thought there were some gorgeous scenes and some great moments, but overall I'm disappointed. Two things: First -- I could not get over the mind-numbing idiocy of their battle strategy. Sending the Dothraki out on an open field charge to their certain death? It's worse then throwing their lives away. Given what the NK raises the dead, you just gave the NK a mounted Dothraki army. I know they wanted sweeping, sacrificial war scenes and all, but I could not suspend my disbelief enough to accept that that in a war where keeping your side alive is the number 1 priority, you abandon the safety of castle and send everyone charging out towards the enemy. Second -- I needed better closure on why Bran was so important and why the NK was so keen on killing him. "Bran is the one with memories" was too thin a sauce, IMO. I would have liked to see Bran have some role in the battle other than just "bait" which validated the importance and mysticism surrounding his character.

Not sure either what the cause of his sudden rage and mood swings is, but what I saw last episode would be an absolute deal-breaker for me. I was rooting for this relationship to make it before, but not any more.

To put I finer point on it, I think Will's problem with Jasmine is that she unintentionally belittles him. From large issues, like criticizing where he grew up and his life dreams, to smaller things like telling him how to cook pancakes and scolding him that he's driving too fast. She often says these things in a joking or friendly tone, and I don't believe she is trying to be hurtful, but I think they are killing Will's desire for her. She is treating him like an mother trying to get him to sit up straight and do his homework, and not a women who finds Will a desirable, competent person. Is it any surprise that he doesn't feel desire, if he is being constantly told that he is not desirable? I would be surprised if this is a dynamic that's unique to her relationship with Will and may explain how an attractive, intelligent women is still searching for a soul-mate. I think this match could have worked, had Jasmine given Will more breathing room and less criticism. They both seem like decent people.