MinDC76

What distinctive traces are you referring to? Please cite legitimate Medical Journal publications / studies confirming your assertions, because your vague statement is simply not true on its face.

Can Ari ever just stop being awful? If she could just cease doing one of the following, I would find her more tolerable (i) whining; (ii) crying (iii) making any kind of facial expression; or (iv) speaking. Her constant bloviating causes me to rage spiral. I am trying to follow the logic where it is okay to raise Avi Jewish without any question because that is her religion, but any ask from "Baby" to incorporate his religion is pressuring her and making her feel uncomfortable. I cannot abide her. She is an entitled, racist (yes-I am going there), terror.

Debatable. ;)

Anna is a pathetic excuse for a mother. Once you decide to have kids, all bets are off the table. Don't have kids if you do not want to put their needs first until they are able to live on their own/fend for themselves. I am not suggesting that you should sacrifice every bit of happiness you could have for your kids, but it's a pretty basic concept that you should put your kid's needs before that of some random stranger you meet on the internet. Seriously, you have to be dumber than a box of hair to have a stranger come to live with you and your young kids. Mursel could have been a pedophile for all Anna knows! Not to mention, she is psychologically scarring her kids by sending the message to them that they are to be hidden like some dirty little secret. Divorce is hard. Being a single parent is hard. Okay. Lots of stuff in life is hard, but you are the adult, so you should shoulder that hard stuff as much as reasonable while they are kids.

I feel like I am going to rage spiral when I watch Tania. She is one of my top 5 most hated cast members ever. She is completely disrespectful to Syngin and ridiculously self-absorbed. She is delusional if she thinks any man will put up with her for long. I pray that she buys a bra, so I won’t have to give myself a brain bleach the next time she is onscreen. Syngin needs to give that dumpy, shrill, witch the boot stat.

Maybe I am slow on the uptake tonight , because of the numerous glasses of wine I have imbibed, but I am unclear as to whether your post is serious or not. I seriously can’t see the great beauty that Alison allegedly represents. Luisa is seriously gorgeous though. “Allie’s” appeal seems to all stem from her damsel in distress m.o. - blech!

Maybe I am supposed to take this to SwS thread, but I think Ivar is going to fall in love with Astrid. Blerg. I pray I am wrong!

Maybe I am a dumb dumb, but I was also confused about the Bjorn and Halfdan situation. Was Cassia (sp?) ordering their deaths, because she considered them guilty by association with her captor/the man they ate. Gag by the way!

Whoa. The primary charter guest's wife is my friend from college. I almost fell off of my chair when I saw them.

Sorry RedheadZombie, but I have to disagree with you on this. Just because affairs are said to be common, I don't believe that makes the people carrying on affairs "normal". I think that to some degree every character on this show is shown to be lacking in morals and boundaries, as those are exactly the type of people that cheat IRL. I see Allison and Noah in a much harsher light, because their cheating led to the break-up of a family. Children were casualties of their ridiculously selfish actions.

I really enjoyed this episode. It was actually the first time I liked an episode this season. Right, wrong, or indifferent, I truly believe that Helen was just young and in love, and not that she is some sinister, selfish, narcissist for not noticing how f'd up Noah was. She hadn't grieved over the loss of a parent before. She knew he was grieving, but was probably in the throes of "love" endorphins. Her vision was clouded. That happens. If Nina thinks that her brother just used Helen and never really loved her for 20+ years, then that would make him a monster. If Nina can excuse that and say that there is a possibility that Helen didn't notice that he was out to use her, then that makes her a complete shit herself.

I believe cheating in and of itself is actually abusive. You are putting the emotional and physical well-being of your spouse at risk when you cheat. That is most certainly abuse in my book.

How do you know he did not gaslight her at some point after she found out? Maybe he didn't try to "make her doubt her sanity," in a way that she recognized. I can't imagine that he came totally clean about every detail after he was caught. He would probably have to suddenly have a character transplant and became honest after he was caught. Maybe I should have just said David has emotionally manipulated her instead. Either way, both tacks are toxic and part of the tool chest of many abusers/cheaters.

As I said, "I think it's unusual for someone to call the police to stop a verbal altercation with their spouse, if there isn't a THREAT of violence." I did not say he was necessarily violent during that particular incident. Also, to clarify, I did not say that I think he constantly assaults her, but I said I believe he has been physical with her on more than one occasion. I would find it hard to believe that such a toxic, emotionally abusive marriage has not lead to a physical altercation at some point or points after that many years. Again-my humble opinion.

I find it pretty unlikely that anyone can have an affair for 9 months (sorry, I thought it was 2, but it really doesn't make a difference), and essentially lead a double-life, without gaslighting their spouse in some way. Perhaps he did not, but I personally doubt that. I base my conclusion on the bruises on Shannon's body in her pictures and the fact that she called the police in 2003. I think it's unusual for someone to call the police to stop a verbal altercation with their spouse, if there isn't a threat of violence. I am not buying what she is selling. That is my opinion, and what I "concluded" based on my experiences and what I intuit about the situation/her reactions. We are free to disagree.