Chief Queef

The "feminine" argument is a bit silly. Plenty of women are not stereotypically feminine in their self-presentation and have no problem finding boyfriends or husbands. I think what people mean to say is just that Heather's demeanor is harsh and cold, not warm and nurturing like you'd expect a wife to be. And although I don't care for either of their personalities, I'm not willing to write them off as terrible people yet since this show has a history of making bad matches and then passing blame on the participants. Personally I think Heather just doesn't want to be on the show. I noticed regret dawning on her face as the wedding approached in the first episode, before she even met Derek. It's a stupid decision and a waste of time to come on this trainwreck show and actually expect to get a decent match out of it, and I think she probably realized that early on in the process but couldn't back out since she signed a contract and is now just gritting her teeth through it. I don't blame her for hating it, but at the same time I don't feel sorry for her either (or anyone else on this show) since they knew exactly what they were signing up for.

Eh, I'll roll with it. It's a fun campy network show and I've seen worse/sillier exposition in sci-fi...ahem, Prometheus anyone? I still have a ton of questions (how did they get the dry goods and stuff to last that long? why the brutal repression and public executions?) but I'm sure the show will answer them in time...or, you know, not answer them and leave giant gaping Shyamalam-ish plot holes. Either way I'm still having fun! One thing I found interesting was how Wayward Pines leadership refers to the abbies as "devolution of humankind" and "less than human." There's really no such thing as "devolution", only evolution, so in reality the abbies are MORE than human as the next phase in human evolution in response to climate change (or whatever rapid global shift the show claims caused the mutation). But the fact that management is choosing to refer to them that way, along with the town's political repression and the uniform demographic makeup of the people they selected for freezing, makes me think this is actually a giant eugenics experiment and Pilcher's end goal is more sinister than just sustaining the human species.

P.S. Am I the only one who finds Jon Snow's prettiness distracting, and not entirely in a good way? I feel like hair and makeup should rough his look up a tiny bit more. His hair is just SO luscious and glossy I find myself wondering where he managed to find L'Oreal products on the Wall? I also realize this is a dumb thing to complain about, lol.

WOOOW! Just when this show was starting to suck, they brought me back. The White Walkers ROCK and I'm now very curious about their back story, their plans and motivations, and how all the show's human characters will (or won't) band together to stop them. Also love how much info everyone provided on the thread about the actress who played the wildling lady! She really stood out to me, I found her incredibly charismatic, strong and sexy. I only wish we could've seen more of her. Unpopular opinion: I do not find A Man handsome or attractive, I find him rather annoying. Ditto for Jorah. It's so nice to have Dany and Tyrion finally together. Is it just me or were they flirting a little? It also made me realize I really only care about their storyline and Jon Snow's. The show has way too many boring, extraneous storylines and they need to start trimming the fat soon. I truly don't give a crap about the Reek or the Boltons and I'm sorry a formerly interesting character like Sansa has been pulled into their massive orbit of suckage.

I've always found the "historical accuracy" argument pretty weak for a show that also features dragons, napalm attacks and the freaking walking dead as everyday occurrences. It's not a period drama, it's a show set in a fantasy world with some allusions to medieval Europe. And even if rape is a commonplace occurrence in this world, that doesn't mean viewers aren't allowed a critical response to WHEN and HOW it is portrayed. On a show where naked female bodies are routinely portrayed as mute, sexualized scenery objects complete with leering porn-y camera pans, I think it's a reasonable expectation that viewers will be somewhat suspicious of how the writers (who are 100% male this season afaik?) choose to portray sexual violence against women. And at the end of the day it's a 21st century show marketed toward a 21st century audience - of course contemporary sexual politics are relevant to the discussion! That said, I think we actually are seeing some growth with Sansa. She's gotten an admirably quick read on Ramsay and has already begun using his weaknesses against him. I also don't think her revenge, when it comes, will be in the form of a big crazy feminist moment of kicking Ramsay out the window or whatever. I think it'll be through trickery and subterfuge designed to tear the Bolton family's solidarity apart from inside. And apart from Cersei's (cheap and telegraphed from 10 miles away) comeuppance, I didn't find much to enjoy about this episode. Right now I'm questioning the writers' decision not to check in on some characters (Bran, Hodor etc.) at all this season while devoting TONS of time to uninteresting characters like the Boltons. Meanwhile some storylines (i.e. Dany at Meereen) have moved at a snail's pace, while others (Dorne) have developed in ridiculous ways. Imma need GoT to get it together before it becomes yet another victim of the dreaded HBO curse, where formerly great shows suddenly go to shit around season 4/5.

As far as I recall from reading Traci's book (and from her Wikipedia) she grew up in extreme poverty, was raised by an abusive father, and was repeatedly raped and molested. The suggestion an underage girl who likely saw porn as her only escape from a horrific life a) possessed full agency over her career and b) wasn't a victim in any way, makes me pretty uncomfortable too.

I think it's possible for Sean to both be a "player"/hook up with a lot of women AND be as awkward and dorky as he appears here. His personality may be off-putting but superficially he's a good looking guy with a decent job. I could totally see women pursuing him for casual sex, and then not sticking around long once his personality comes out. But then once he's faced with building real intimacy in a long-term relationship, especially with a woman like Davina who wants to be pursued by a man, he's out of his element. I also agree with everyone saying the experts' advice might help new couples who are in love, but it's useless with these people because none of them can stand each other. No matter how they rationalize it, it's obvious by their behavior and body language they have ZERO chemistry or interest and are just gritting their teeth and sticking out their 15 minutes. It's very telling that the "best" couple, Jaclyn and Ryan, have the potential to be friends at most. I doubt the others will even speak to each other after their contracts expire.

Ugh, this show is such a pile of crap. I'm only watching now to mock and to see what sort of tortured editing shenanigans they'll pull at the end to maintain the lie that "the experts make great matches." Because NONE of these people have any chemistry or compatibility in the slightest.<br /><br />Sean...oh my GAWD, I couldn't stop giggle-snorting at his "I'm Christian Grey sexual!" line. What heterosexual man in human history has ever busted out a line like that? I think he's either closeted gay or just asexual. I find it impossible to believe he's this smooth ladies man in real life who just happens to come across as a wimpy awkward dork on TV. I can't stand Davina and think she'd be a nightmare even in a "normal" relationship with all her prickly insecurity, but his issues are definitely overshadowing hers right now. I went from finding him mildly cute the first episode to feeling my skin crawl every time I see him now. Something ain't right with that dude.<br /><br />I find Jaclyn and Ryan less irritating than the other couples, but their personalities really aren't compatible. She's a brash aggressive girl and he's a boring homely dude. I could see her with an equally extroverted alpha-male type guy, and I could see him with a passive woman with less ambition who's happy living in his mom's basement. I think it's commendable they're both making an effort and they seem to care for each other as people (if not in a sexual way) but it's obvious they're better off as friends.<br /><br />And Ryan and Jessica will never make it. The reason she "has an emotional wall up" is because she's picking up on the VERY obvious fact that he doesn't like her. I think Ryan sees Jessica as beneath him - the type of girl he might holler at in a bar and maybe have a fling with, but not wife and mother material. He seems spoiled and clearly has a high opinion of himself, and I think he imagines himself married to a woman with the looks of a supermodel and the personality of his sainted grandmother. Whatever dude, good luck with that.<br /><br />There's really nothing to salvage with any of these couples. If any of them choose to "stay married", it'll only be to extend their 15 minutes for another season. This show is so pathetic and bottom of the barrel.

Wait, did Sean just use a hammer to pound a SCREW into the wall? And it looked like he really tore up the drywall%u2014it'll take some serious spackle to get the security deposit back on that short-term lease. I could not cope with someone who can't handle basic household tasks and can't even have a disagreement without emotionally shutting down and regressing to his childhood bullying. Davina is no prize either but that dude is a MESS. The therapy sessions were bullshit. I hate this "the experts fixed all our problems in 5 minutes!" narrative, it's so disingenuous and scripted. And Dr. Joseph freaks me out. His advice is odd, his speech and delivery are odd, he looks odd, and he looks even odder when he smiles. I'm still not convinced he isn't a sentient robot who terminated a kid at prom and stole his tuxedo jacket.

I don't understand why there needs to be a clear-cut bad guy in the Jessica/Ryan situation. She's clearly passive-aggressive, a poor communicator, and has trouble letting minor issues go. He's clearly arrogant, immature, and has trouble handling conflict without throwing ridiculous tantrums. Neither of them seem like evil people and of course they both have the capacity to change for the better, but it's highly doubtful they'll do so in three weeks without serious editing shenanigans involved. NO ONE should be fighting that bitterly with someone they barely know and have no emotional history with, which makes it clear they're a terrible personality match and can only bring out the worst in each other. Lots of people have had relationships like that and it's embarrassing to think back later on how shitty you both behaved. Of course the experts will try to spin it otherwise since their totes amazing Matchmaking Sciencez never fails(!), but it's pretty obvious. And I don't think the experts picked the original 6 because they were so well-matched. They picked individuals who seemed like good TV and THEN matched them up. We even saw them debating who they were going to match with whom during the casting special. I don't think there's any science involved at all; they'll just pick people who seem like they'll bring the drama and then edit them to be even more dramatic.

The whole "ghetto mentality" conversation is making me uncomfortable on multiple levels. Hell of a lot of projection going on around here, but I'll leave it at that. That said, these people have to be contractually obligated to stick this dismal "experiment" out for the whole running time, right? Right?! Or there's at least some kind of cash prize at the end? Because I can't think of another reason any sane, rational human being would sit around and allow a giant man-baby in a fucking purple velour tracksuit and Khloe Kardashian eyebrows to berate her and scream at her to read a book. I'm not even a fan of Jessica's bitter passive-aggressive act, but COME ON. Dude takes douche-lord to the level of performance art. Meanwhile Davina and Sean are boring and drippy as ever with zero chemistry, and Ryan was apparently so excited and ready for marriage that he didn't even realize it might entail moving out of Mommy's basement? The "experts" really pulled a doozy for this season. I don't see any of these couples having what it takes at this point and think they'll end up having to bribe/coerce a few of them to stay married until the show wraps.

I really enjoyed the documentary; as someone who's never been a huge fan of Kurt Cobain (although I own and love the "Unplugged" album, I never got all the hype around him) I felt like I gained a deeper understanding of both his immense talent and his inner demons. The footage of him high off his ass and nodding out while holding his baby was haunting and disturbing, and the animations of his journal entries were fascinating if a little heavy-handed at times. The one big impression I got from the documentary was that his fame and talent probably hastened his death rather than delaying it. It's clear he was deeply hurt by the negative media attention his family received, and I think the people around him might've taken his crisis more seriously and staged an intervention if he wasn't attached to such a huge gravy train. How can you look at a person emaciated, distressed and covered in sores and think "hey let's let him keep going like this, what could go wrong?" It seemed like the heroin, the depression and the self-loathing became part of his aura as a rock star rather than the huge red flags they'd be for an ordinary person.

Ok so I've never actually seen this show so please don't eat me alive. And I usually love these historical drama type things, but it turns me off how the headlines for every recap and review of this show (and not just on this site) are all "RAPE" "WOMAN BEATEN" "THIS WEEK ON OUTLANDER: MISOGYNY" "MORE RAPE" "DOES THIS SHOW HAVE TOO MUCH SEXUAL ASSAULT?" ...sooo what's up with all that? and why is it such a popular show if that's the content? are there redeeming factors I'm missing? or is this basically just Game of Rapes?

Co-signing on Mance's death being unnecessary. He couldn't have even discussed Stannis' deal with the Wildlings first? These folks have been fighting for a long time, is it impossible to think some of them might be okay with signing up for one more battle in exchange for sunny retirement homes? The fact he made his choice so quickly and without consulting anyone made it seem more like a point of personal pride rather than consideration of everyone's best interests. Oh well. Feeling Varys/Tyrion's scheming and plotting so hard right now and looking forward to their trip to Mereen which will hopefully give that dragging storyline a boost. How many boring throne room scenes do we need to establish that Dany is better at conquering than she is at ruling? Also, I wonder whose payroll her boy toy is on? He's certainly full of "advice" lately, all of which she seems to take with zero grains of salt. Did she learn nothing from that whole mess with Jorah? And why is she so surprised her kids are throwing tantrums after she locked them up in a damn cave for a month? Get it together Khaleesi. And, umm, Missandai and Grey Wolf? You don't need a dick to pleasure a woman or have a relationship, kids. Don't you have any lesbian friends who can enlighten y'all?

I'm still having a hard time remembering these people's names. I haven't noticed Sean as creepy yet but I missed the massage table scene. To me he's cute but sooo obviously just there for the cameras. I feel similarly about Davina and her constant offense at his inability to read her every emotional fluctuation. Their drama seems fake and forced. Ryan reminds me of Vaughn 2.0. I don't think he's a bad person but his behavior is immature and asshole-ish. Jessica has accommodated him so far but I think her patience will wear thin quickly. I don't think he understands what real marriage entails and will continue throwing tantrums every time something disturbs the romantic fantasy he's created around his grandparents' relationship. He's just silly to me. I actually think the friend zone couple has the best chance of making it. At least they enjoy each other's company.