anstar

He was being a jerk, and early on she did need his help. Which is why I said, 'as soon as she was physically able' she needed to be with him at the grocery store. To add to that, she also needed to be in the kitchen, doing for herself, because I agree with a previous poster. Something about her needing him or she "couldn't do it" bothered me too. I'm glad she learned that she could do it herself. Yes, it's easier with help, but it's not impossible without it. He wised up and stopped being a jerk. Their relationship survived (until the end of the episode anyway.) I have no idea if they're still together or not. Zsalynn finally found the courage to kick Gareth to the curb. She was another one who learned that not having help wasn't going to stop her. Whether it's bad food choices, alcohol, cigarettes, etc. you are trying to kick, eventually you will find yourself in a situation where you are facing that very thing, alone and without your support system. You have to be able to withstand the temptation on your own. It's unrealistic to think otherwise. (I say this as a former smoker as well as a person two years into a low carb/high protein diet.)

I don't think we saw any in laws. The "intro" flags (I can't think of what to call them) when people were on screen always said "Gil's brother" and "Gil's sister", even when they were together in talking heads, so I don't think we were seeing a couple, but both of his siblings. Gil did say that both is brother and sister lived on the property, and that he also owned land there but hadn't built a house on it (yet.)

She did say they were there for the test results, when they went to the doctor's office in that one scene. So it's possible they knew the *sex* (gender is NOT the same thing and sex isn't a dirty word!) earlier than a sonogram could have told them. Given the fragility of this pregnancy, I don't think extra tests are out of the question, so timeline shenanigans might not be in play here. I'm willing to give them the benefit of the doubt for now.

Was the church they chose at least a little closer to where the Seewalds live? Maybe they factored that in? That is one (more) thing I like about Jessa. She doesn't let the Duggar side completely bulldoze over the Seewalds.

Bettie Jo is going to have to have some serious will power to make it, based on what we've seen. The meal her family served on the trip home was either ignorance or malicious but there was almost nothing on that table she could (or should) eat. Her husband, while he didn't reach Gareth levels, appeared to be trying to sabotage her early on. She said in therapy that he only bought food that was bad for her. I'm also 5'2 and am on a high protein/low carb diet. I wasn't anywhere near 600 pounds but my doctor recommended I have the surgery. I declined and asked for the meds instead. In just over 2 years I lost 120 pounds and no one around me changed a single thing about their eating habits. I was surrounded by people who ate pizza and fried chicken all the time. It didn't (and still doesn't) bother me. I know I'm lucky though. I thought I'd struggle with it. When my co-workers brought me a giant cookie for my birthday last year, I thanked them, happily cut it up and passed it out to everyone and smiled while they enjoyed it...didn't even taste the frosting myself and it honestly didn't upset me. I didn't say all of that for any reason except to say, Bettie Jo, and all of the others on this journey, are still going to be confronted with foods they shouldn't eat. I see a lot of comments about how 'rude' it is for someone to eat unhealthy food around the one trying to lose weight. I never thought so, for me anyway. It was something I had to learn to deal with. Just because I was on a diet, didn't mean everyone else had to. I was losing the weight for me, and I didn't think any less of people if they didn't change their own eating habits to accommodate me. As soon as Bettie Jo was physically able to go shopping for herself, she should have been with her husband at the grocery store, adding doctor approved foods to the cart. If he wanted a hotdog, fine..she can still have her own healthy options.

I don't know that it was jealousy exactly. She said in her TH that if she can't touch him, her sisters aren't going to either, but I think really it more about rescuing poor Brandon who was clearly uncomfortable with a grabby Tori and didn't know how to extricate himself gracefully. I could see him getting more and more stressed, the more she pressured him and by the time she physically grabbed him, Michael(a) had had enough and stepped in. Tori, Carlin and Josie are very outgoing and can be overwhelming. Michael(a) is quiet and introverted. I think Brandon probably is too. She's also a big sister and she won't hesitate to flex the 'muscle' if necessary on annoying siblings. It was nice to see courtship adherent parents fall back and allow the couple the ability to at least have a private conversation. You just know in Duggarland (where every text and phone call is monitored) that would never happen. The trash can walking - ninja fighting thing - gave me visions of head injuries, busted lips, broken teeth...ER visits or dental emergencies. :( Fun times.

Dr. Now puts them on a high protein low carb diet, and the fat is where they get their energy. My doctor has me on the same type of diet. I'm supposed to stay below 60 grams of carbs a day. I need fat in my diet for energy. (There is "good" fat and "bad" fat.)

If the shelf collapses and anyone (the climber or an innocent bystander) is injured, the store is liable...another reason shelf climbing is frowned upon. I will admit to the apparently "offensive" crime of offering assistance to people. Not trying to imply they *can't* do something, just trying to be helpful. This show is kind of bland. The kids are cute but that's not enough to make it must see TV for me. (And Zoe Klein is just so much cuter.)

I think my favorite scene (besides her stapler banging "Where are Provenza and Flynn"!!!) is her epic apology in the, season 1 finale.

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Things like this are easy to say, but really, for Dillon I think it's not so cut and dried. He's been emotionally and psychologically abused most (or all) of his life, is probably clinically depressed, and doesn't know any other way of life. Pauline is a master manipulator, a professional victim and her main target is Dillon. From the outside, looking in, we can see what she's doing. Even Dr. Now knew what she was doing and couldn't get her to budge. She just kept switching techniques until he threw up his hands. Dillon, having been raised by her, sees that compliance is the only way to survive. Anything else makes his life a living hell. And I don't think he sees walking away as an option. If anything happened to her, it would be his fault, and he couldn't live with the guilt. (Master manipulator...level...Expert.)

If the company in question won't be a sponsor, (ie: pay the show something), they get blurred. No "free" advertising for them!

The young men don't get a ring, but Lawson said in the TH that they are held to the same standard. There aren't two sets of rules. And I wish they would make clear to these young people (as in the case of Elizabeth Smart) that making a choice and being victimized are two vastly different things.

I think it's actually Histrionic Personality Disorder (This "victim" mentality and emotional manipulation extend to all areas of their lives, not just romantic/sexual relationships.) whereas Narcissistic Personality Disorder is: I'm not a psychiatrist (and I don't play one on TV), but I was a mental health deputy once upon a time, and I had to have some basic understanding to do my job. I was still so frustrated watching this episode I wanted to reach into the screen and slap her! Gastric bypass on her was a giant waste of time, energy and money better spent somewhere else.

I am happy that the Bates family got another show. I like them better than the Duggars. They feel more natural and honest. There is just something genuine about this family that the Duggars are missing. When Kelly talks about her love for her family, I believe her. When Michelle does it, I feel like she's reading from a script. Take the car accident. You could almost see Kelly's heart stop for a second when she heard. This vs. Michelle's inappropriate cackling and video recording her child crying and bleeding at the bottom of the orchestra pit when he fell in. (I can't remember which one it was.) Or when Jordyn got her little head stuck in the stair railing and JB actually had to tell her it wasn't funny. My heart broke for Erin. I was impressed with the way she handled herself though. She's not hiding her pain, but she's also genuinely happy for Whitney and Zach and isn't withdrawing from life. Her family is gentle with her, but continuing with their lives as well. Hurting for Erin doesn't mean you can't be happy for Alyssa. Their strong family bond will get them through. Zach carries a gun, so is an actual deputy for the sheriff's department it looks like...at least as a reserve. The copycat Duggars (who got the EMT idea from the Bates family well) clearly got the law enforcement (and allowing girls to court) ideas here, but is John David armed?! What a frightening thought. One thing that surprised me was that this very musical family doesn't sing their own opening song this time. (Not that I'm complaining)

Not sure about a "safe room" but if there is a storm shelter, it's not under the house. The house is on a concrete slab. We saw them pouring it in one of the specials. They put piping in it to run hot water through, making heated floors and helping with heating costs in those cavernous rooms. Are they in Tornado Alley? I'm not sure how far east it extends. I know I'm a little too far south where I'm at in Texas to be considered part of it. Anyway, sometimes those storm shelters are near the house. In a pinch though, any interior room without windows (and a bathroom or closet is best) and throw a mattress or quilts/coats over the top of you. Then hunker down and hang on. :(

Janice is awesome! That is all.

There are also several returned children and didn't Bellamy return the first time as pretty much a toddler? What could a child that young possibly have done to qualify as "not a saint"? BG may absolutely believe her theory, but I don't accept it as gospel.

So maybe Dave's vision wasn't a past event after all, and he was predicting the future. The brothers Teague don't seem to have considered that possibility...or if they did, I missed it. And I agree. Since Charlotte turns out to have been the "they" who shoved Mara in the barn, Daddy must be the "thing they should have been afraid of". Maybe he was a perfectly nice man who became unhinged somehow. (That's the story they gave Mara. She started out more like Audrey and the loss of Daddy sent her down the path to the dark side.) Hurray for Nathan growth. I thought we were going to have a repeat of the season three finale, where he wouldn't let her go in the barn. I was gearing up to yell at the television and then didn't have to. Question. Where did Mara get all the aether she used to turn Duke into the trouble bomb? I thought she only had that little bit she managed to steal from Nathan, and she used that to tweak the visible light trouble into the microwave one. Duke had aether hand prints all over his torso. I would assume those were put there during their sexy times but that happened before she was "kidnapped". Wait. That was after the aether was stolen, wasn't it? Never mind. I figured out the timeline. I was going to erase this whole paragraph, but I'll just leave it in. Mara had Kirk steal the aether, then used it to make a Duke bomb. The guy who saw how you were going to die when he touched you seems to have missed the mark. He told Audrey she and her "twin sister" would die at the same time. Mara is gone and Audrey is still here. Or I guess those visions are really open to interpretation. That 'copy' of Audrey died too, and now Audrey and Mara are combined into one whole person and those two incomplete people died at the same time. Shanna Marie, you may be right. Duke could die an old man, and the Guard tattoo reaching for him is on Nathan's arm as he reaches toward him, to comfort him. Or it's an accidental death as Nathan reaches for him and can't get there in time. I really hope they don't wait until September to start the next "season"! It's only December. That's a hundred years from now! :(

Thank you! I knew he looked familiar and couldn't place him. It was driving me bonkers. You've saved my sanity.

Mara's master plan was to get Daddy back? How does inflicting deadly and/or debilitating "troubles" on an innocent town accomplish that goal, exactly?

He confronted Charlotte outside. I wouldn't have expected his trouble to have much effect in the great outdoors, but it's possible he was in remission. I was suspicious of her "study" of the aether when she first told Dwight she'd "used it all up" and needed more. I'm also curious what she did with it.

Before he was attacked by Duke (or even going into the police station) he was aggressively approaching Charlotte, and being chased away by Dwight, because he'd heard she was working on a cure and demanded she "fix him" because his trouble had been activated. The way he was acting between sucking the air out of the hospital and dying with Duke's hand on his throat didn't make it seem like he'd gone into remission. <shrug> I agree, though, that nobody passed out when he stole the aether, so it's an inconsistency at the very least, since he clearly didn't have any kind of grip on his emotions.

Since Nathan can feel Charlotte, I guess that makes her immune to the troubles after all, meaning she was faking being charmed by Chris. Gasping like a banked fish during the lack of oxygen trouble is still canon because, as Vince told Audrey, "physical phenomena can still hurt you". (Crush) Having said that...why did everyone revive when Duke killed what's his name if it didn't turn Kirk off? All that seems to have done is cure the virus and stop its spread. Apparently it didn't turn off the troubles it activated. I want Charlotte to be of the "them" who shoved Mara in the barn when she got out of control, but I'm afraid she's going to be the thing they should have been afraid of, rather than William, that Jennifer warned them about in the cave under the lighthouse. I'm so glad Duke and Nathan are working together again. I hate it when they're at odds. They're better together and the writers need to do some fancy footwork to explain Duke's very out of character actions of the past few episodes. He doesn't fall hook, line and sinker for a known con artist's act and he was always the one who caught on first ("Lexi" was really Audrey..."Audrey" was really Mara pretending) so why did he fall for it the past couple of episodes? I don't buy it and I'm mad at the writer's for assassinating his character for the sake of the storyline. <grump> Was there a trouble this week? How sad. I can't even remember.

It kinda does when you factor in the cost of removing them. I'd imagine it's not cheap. He's removing the publicly visible ones first. (Neck/knuckles) Ones you can hide with clothes can wait. I think the Asian stalker went off the rails when he saw the tattoos and I think it was amplified by a sense of betrayal. He had thought of Mark as his friend. At the BBQ, when the bikers came up, he felt empathy for Mark. He'd been in that situation, as the victim of a hate crime. I haven't learned all their names yet, but good for the sidekick who provoked the skinhead simply by speaking in Spanish. BTW, that guy played a serial killer on Dexter, but I can't remember which one. Help?