Cheezwiz

Not a fan myself, but also not on the hate train (yet). I'm still sort of neutral about her (the sober version at least). It will be interesting to see how she behaves with a totally different dynamic - new cast members in the mix, and if she manages to maintain her sobriety. It sounds like her head has swelled a bit from the attention she received first season, so I'm dubious about her prospects.

It's basically the bargain-basement off-brand version of Scientology! Although I doubt the course fees were any more of a bargain. I can't help thinking about the phenomenal white whale the Seagram sisters must have been when they got lured in. Can you imagine how much Raniere & Salzman's eyes must've been lighting up when they realized they'd hooked those two?

I found this episode(episode 5) extremely tedious. It took my two tries to get through it without falling asleep. I get they were in a precarious position with trying to get their stories published in the NYT, but it was just endless footage of people on the phone. This series is taking an awfully long time to get where it's going. I will keep watching because I find the psychology riveting, but man, let's move things along please. I felt sooo much second hand embarrassment for the Dalai Lama. Watching him listen while creepy obsequious little Keith tried to plead his case was pure cringe. Yuck. His Holiness and his crew should've trusted their first instincts and stayed the hell away. I'm still laughing at this! Thanks for making my night @pigs-in-space!

I was flabbergasted. I don't think it had anything to do with British design. I figure the show had to be fixed - there was no way that win was earned. I'd love to know what the real behind-the-scenes inside story was. That contestant should have been booted when they re-did the inn. Just hideous & ghastly.

Oh, right. I completely forgot about them. All the wrong people are spawning right now.

I searched Reddit as well and couldn't find the post you were referencing - can you give us a hint? a broad summation? Now my curiosity is getting the better of me!

Wait, who's the third couple? Stassi & her purse-holder, Jax & Brittany, (God help us), and who else?

Yes, exactly - if she returns to human form, human Ji-Ah may not have any memory of what is currently happening. She not love, or even recognize Tic.

Yes, she's still in there. If she sleeps with and consumes one more male, she will return to her human form with her own memories, rather than the memories of people she has consumed. Tic was supposed to be her next victim, but she realized that she was in love with him. Not sure if she will search for another final victim, or if she will choose to retain her supernatural powers.

I was so grossed out by last week's episode that I wasn't sure I could continue. Glad I watched, because I really enjoyed this episode, and was captivated by Ji-Ah's story, along with the incorporation of Korean mythology. It was also pretty gross, but didn't bother me as much as last week. Does ANYONE on this show get to have some fun non-lethal sex? The home where they lived was beautiful, but good grief, 99 souls? how the hell did they manage to clean those elaborately carved shoji-type screens after each incident? I'm the furthest thing from being an OCD clean freak, but It was all I could focus on! On another total digression, I was coveting Ji-Ah's cute winter coat. I wound up being quite engrossed & touched by Ji-Ah's and Tic's love story. I'm assuming that she's probably going to come looking for him at some point. I wonder if she will choose to bide her time and keep her supernatural abilities, or become human. Loved the recording ofJudy Garland's voice at the end. For those who were wondering, Judy was dictating a lot into a tape recorder just prior to her death for an autobiography she hoped to write. Many of the recordings wound up being drunken rants. They were lost for many years and then re-surfaced, showing just how damaged she was at the end of her life. I can't explain why, but I really loved the tie in of her story to Ji-Ah & Tic's doomed romance. This and the haunted house episode have been my favourites so far.

Ugh. Can she just go away and live in obscurity with her dork fiance and ranch dressing? Forever? Please?

Yep. THIS. Denise often couldn't get her stories straight. She ran from conflict most of the time. She often seemed "medicated" on camera. Her husband is a weirdo with a questionable business. You know what? I totally didn't care. Because the rest of the cast spent an entire season piling on, and making Himalaya mountain ranges over tiny mole-hills, beating dead horses (pardon my mixed metaphors). If Denise was lying (which I suspect she may have been), it WAS ABOUT THINGS THAT CONCERNED NO ONE ELSE. Despite being blasted and harangued at pretty much every event she attended, she never retaliated by hitting below the belt. Rinna was at her most psychotic this season, and most of the other women fell in line. They quadrupled down when they realized the fans weren't behind them. The remaining ladies better be careful what they wish for now that Brandi has been pulled back into the fold to spill tea. Because next time it might be one of them she spills on. Oh, and shut up Teddi!

I think that's the key to how he got away with things for so long. Keith pretended to have no involvement - only tacit "approval". Women tend to trust other women, and most of these women were probably already 3/4 brainwashed to begin with. It also seems not all of the "masters" had knowledge of Keith's predatory behaviour either, so there was some compartmentalizing going on even within the DOS secret sorority. Knowing what we know about the manipulation that was happening, I'm more and more impressed with Bonnie for trusting her instincts and bailing early on. I'm interested in why some people crossed the line into predation and abuse, and why others were able to put the brakes on and get out.

Yes to all of the above. I really hope the documentary addresses some of the things I've been able to dig up with just cursory browsing on the web. At the moment, it seems like a way for some of the more self-serving former members to burnish their images and make more $$$. Still very curious about the Bronfmans who bankrolled the whole thing (their father apparently recognized it as a scam from the beginning), and Nancy Salzman and her daughter. Salzman behaved like a true believer when she formed her business partnership with Raniere. Did Salzman actually believe the word salad he was selling? Or were they scheming together to bilk people from the get-go? Did anyone research their backgrounds before signing up? As others have noted above, this whole organization seems to be filled with well-to-do white people completely devoid of critical thinking skills.

Really interesting link to an article that Forbes magazine did on Keith Raniere way back in 2003. It exposes some of his past, and his past activities will not come as a surprise to anyone who's watched the documentary so far. I suppose reading this could be considered a bit of a spoiler, so it might be worthwhile to bookmark until later after the whole series has aired: https://www.forbes.com/sites/willyakowicz/2019/05/15/keith-raniere-the-leader-of-the-nxivm-sex-cult/#4f524a5735a9