I don't know if I'm happy or not that I found this forum. It's kept me entertained and fueled my crazy need for MAFS info. But this gal has got to let it go! I have spent far too much time thinking about this crazy show. Dang. :)
The first thing I feel compelled to say is that the experts aren't chumps or idiots. Even Dr. Cilona has a Ph.D. from an APA accredited school. That's no easy task, even if it's Argosy. The college I teach at doesn't have American Psychological Association accredidation and boy-howdy do we wish we did. Schwartz is a Yale alum and Levkoff is an NYU alum. Epstein is a Chaplain at Harvard, so he's doing perfectly fine as well. I admit that as a Ph.D., I got a little wonky with the criticism of the experts, but last night you could see it on their faces, how disappointed and frustrated they were. It became perfectly apparent that they were trying to still teach the participants how to be in any relationship, not just this one. I totally agree with Levkoff that the participants failed the experiment, not the other way around.
Oh to the dear Davina and Sean.... Davina, from the honeymoon, showed a bizarre need to have Sean intuit her thoughts and desires. The infamous crying moment had him trying to make her laugh, I'm sure because he was uncomfortable with his new 'wife' crying for the first time. As a nervous Nellie, he was trying to break the ice and it didn't work. She was mad that he didn't guess what she was feeling or thinking. Could he have simply asked, "What's wrong?" Sure. He didn't. And the reality is that she never offered to explain the tears herself. I think Levkoff was on point to ask her about her own willingness to accept accountabillity. I don't remember Davina really saying what she could've done better. I'm all for being a strong woman, but sometimes it's not about being strong, it's about being obstinate.
And Ryan and Jess-- goodness gracious. It really doesn't matter what kind of dress Jess was wearing, she desperately needs to mature. Yes, does Ryan have some significant confidence/arrogance issues to work out? Yes. But her smashing of the watch and $100 dollar bill was just so petty. Even as the experts were trying to teach how to behave, she retorted like a teenager, that she was pissed off. Oil and water, those two. Bless them both and let them find peace somewhere, anywhere.
Jac and Ry and Kev and Lo and Pep. Dear Jaclyn, you feisty gal, you. It's totally okay to use someone's full name. I promise. What a shocker this one was. From all the preview footage, I would've never guessed the warmth that was still there between them. They were the emblematic couple for the entire season-- folks who have all the potential in the world, sometimes just let the relationship they're in slip through the cracks. They don't follow through and make the committment. When I think about the first season, two of those couples were willing to do everything in their power to make it work. It was exhausting to see them work so hard, but that exhaustion paid off. Even the immature Cortney (I'm remember the death glare she gave Jason when he called her out on wanting to make memories), stuck it out and continually gave herself over to the 'experiment.' Doug and Jamie had the ludicrous cigarette fiasco, but it never devolved into the $100 bill fiasco. Oy vey. These couples! The experts can only do what they can do. What was in the participants minds vs. their hearts was very, very different. Bless the beasts and the children. ...And me, because I'll be tuning in for season three.
