Matty

As I watched last night it struck me again that in several cases on this show the American bringing the "poor foreigner" over is the one committing fraud. The gal from Thailand is being honest about the fact she doesn't love David. She wants him to give her family money, a dowry, and she wants to go to America. She told him upfront. She doesn't love him and he's not good looking. Her own words. She thinks he has money and lives in a nice house in the big city. Ummm. No. He's broke and lives in Louisville, Kentucky. Who's lying? David is strange looking and broke. What a catch! Jorge pulled the same thing on Anfisa. He lied and told her that he was a millionaire and would give her anything she wanted. She told him exactly what she wanted from him and never lied about it. Nicole is even bigger than she was before. How can the family allow her to take her toddler to Morocco for two months? I'm not saying anything against Morocco. I'm saying that Nicole is an immature moron who has no business taking her daughter anywhere alone for two months. She's not a responsible parent. The grandparents seem to provide the only stability in her life. I'm guessing but I don't know that for sure. Coaching the little girl to call Azan Daddy is pathetic and sad. Nicole is the worst! Azan, if you only realized that coming to America isn't worth having to hang out with Nicole for 10 minutes much less marry her. Shudder. She must have quit her job as a barista if she is taking off and leaving the country for two months. Great! Smart move.

Darcy is coming on too strong and desperation is reeking from every pore of her body. Mentioning changing their Facebook status right away, wanting to get engaged ASAP, Jesse becoming a stepfather to her kids, whoa! Slow down, Darcy! Crying, drunk, emotional Darcy was not a pretty sight. Maybe I'm a party of one, but I didn't think Jesse was being completely controlling and crazy. When he brought up purchasing a dresser and Darcy whined about not wanting to live out of a suitcase he said that's why he mentioned the dresser. She was being incoherent. She started out drinking with Jesse's mom in the afternoon, had a few more glasses of wine alone at a bar and arrives home more than a little tipsy. Jesse and Darcy could not have any type of reasonable conversation at that point. She insisted on turning every comment he made into an argument. It's better that she stayed in a hotel or it may have escalated and gotten much worse. Darcy should go home to her daughters and find someone else. She and Jesse are not compatible on any level. Jesse's mother was telling her that in a kinder way than his step father had told her at the lunch. I don't see the connection between them. Darcy, please maintain an iota of pride and dignity for your daughters' sake. Go home and chalk this up to experience and a little free publicity for your clothing line! Patrick's mom is a wise woman! Love her!

Paul couldn't be more awkward and inept. He's in a tropical climate and he's been wearing long pants, that black long sleeved jacket with mesh and heavy black boots for days. Can you imagine the smell emanating from the sweat? Karine is dressed in shorts, crop tops and sandals at all times because it's hot and humid in the Brazilian Amazon. Paul should get some flip flops, a tee shirt and shorts. Lather on sunscreen and bug repellant and be done with it. He is so creepy he makes my skin crawl. It's so degrading that he made Karine take a pregnancy and STD test. When Karine said she will break up with him if he doesn't trust her after the test results I was hoping with every fiber of my being that she would! When he was pawing her and kissing her he looked like a twelve year old boy kissing a girl for the first time. It was uncomfortable to watch. Karine, coming to America isn't worth having to be "intimate" with Paul. Really. It's not.

You know what's equally sad and pathetic as Danielle shuffling out the door with her sorry slice of pepperoni pizza from Little Caesars is the fact that this is what the production company was serving the cast members while taping the show? On 99 Cent Store paper plates! Classy operation. Wow. What's the budget for this show?

When Pedro told Chantal behind closed doors that her family is stupid and that his family is stupid I completely agree. These two will be fine on their own dealing with life, their marriage, etc., without their families butting in. Maybe its lust and not love, but they seem to be in to each other and the parents and siblings are raising issues that are bringing up the problems. They need to stop listening to their families' terrible advice and comments and just be together without their interference. Chantal's family is rude to Pedro and Pedro's family is rude to Chantal. As a Latin son Pedro is going to always help his Mom. He's working two jobs. He will send them money. It's a given. Chantal is in school. When she finishes in two years and has a job, and Pedro saves money for two years, they will be able to get a bigger apartment or buy something. Pedro explained this reasonable plan to Father Chantal and River and they didn't listen. They kept bringing up the three bedroom apt. that Pedro's Mom now lives in. That three bedroom probably costs the same or less than their studio in Atlanta. Things are way cheaper in the Dominican Republic. I know they have to have conflict in order to have a story line for the show but once they set appropriate boundaries with the parents and work out their problems on their own they will be just fine. Last night I kept thinking is Tunisia really that bad, Mo? It can't be as bad as dealing with Danielle. It can't be. If you "frauded" her just pick yourself up, dust yourself off, and head home to Tunis with any remaining self respect you have and bid farewell to Dani forever. Dani would take him back so fast if he showed the slightest bit of interest. Dani can't quit him. Mo, get out of Sandusky!

Where do I begin? Anfisa and Jorge - When Anfisa arrived from Russia she certainly didn't find what she expected. Jorge told her he was a millionaire and he would get her anything she wanted. She was expecting a nice house, Chanel purses, jewelry, luxury cars. Instead she gets a shabby apartment in a nowheresville neighborhood in LA or Orange County. She got scammed more than Jorge. Financially he's barely scraping by and he lied to her to get a "hot girl" to come over and be his bride. Don't feel sorry for him at all. Pao and Russ - The modeling career that never was. At 29 Pao is too old to be starting out as a model. I think the advice the shady agent gave her to try bartending is good advice and not just for a a day job but as her full time career. Dani and Mo - Mo's bringing Dani's criminal past to the courthouse with him. It looked like he printed out about 5 pages of documents with Dani's record. Dani would take Mo back so fast if he offered to come back. These two deserve each other. Loren and Alexi - It's all about Lauren everyday all day. Alexi's mom seems like a very nice lady. Chantal and Pedro - The visit to the Dominican Republic was a train wreck. I think Pedro's mom and sister were playing Chantal's family by serving chicken feet and chicken necks. They were giggling over it in the kitchen and they got the expected reaction. I thought it was rude that the family Chantal wouldn't get out of the van at Pedro's grandma's house. What a bunch of snobs. It was a humble house in the country but all the ladies in the yard were cooking up a homemade meal to welcome them and the family Chantal couldn't bother with it. "Oh, my, there are dogs running around!" "Oh, my, there's a cauldron in the yard. It's voodoo!!" Did anyone else think of MacBeth? hahaha The only one that seems fairly normal in the whole bunch is Chantal's dad. Her mother and River are worthless. As for Pedro's mother and sister, I suppose Pedro can buy them whatever he wants since he's working. Chantal doesn't have to agree with it but she's a spoiled brat and seems to get whatever she wants. It doesn't look like she has to cut back on anything because Pedro is buying things for his mother. I thought it was funny when the women cooking in the yard said she was "muy loco" to each other and she screamed "Stop laughing at me!" and huffed out. Chantal and Pedro will be just fine. She has the hots for Pedro! So much unnecessary drama created by her family!

I've always thought that jumping around the board randomly and not going in sequence was to throw your opponents off their game. Some top players have used that strategy and it worked.

Saw Lion yesterday and thought it was fantastic. I saw a piece on 60 Minutes about Saroo Brierley at least 4 or 5 years ago and never forgot it. I read his book and the film is true to the real story. Of course, the book fleshed out things more than a two hour film is able to do. The younger adopted brother, Mantosh, had serious problems from being traumatized as a young boy. He had been sexually and physically abused. I think Saroo's story is inspiring and the movie well done. Worthy of the amazing story of Saroo's incredible journey. The little boy who played young Saroo was so good. Dev Patel has grown up! Nice job. The story is life affirming and shows the resilience of the human spirit. The fact that a five year old could survive on the streets of Calcutta alone for months and than years later find his way home continues to astound me. I highly recommend this film. Of course, bring the Kleenex. This movie tugs at your heartstrings, not as a fictional, sentimental tearjerker, but because it really happened and the reunion of Saroo with his mother after 25 years will get to you. Beautiful!

Exactly. So much more to the story and these character's story arc that we'll never know. Was Cynthia an illegitimate daughter of Ralph's great grandfather? Is that why she was so pissed off at the guy in the photograph, the Whelan ancestor, and spit on it before shattering it on the ground? Also, she was full of glee at smashing all of the Whelan's antique porcelain and crystal. She hated them for a reason and yet she seemed to love Ralph. Another question that's raised is how Cynthia and her husband came to own the Simla Club. How did they have the type of money and resources needed to acquire it? Did Cynthia, as an illegitimate heir to the Whelan's fortune, receive a payoff kept in trust if her mother kept the secret? I'm now heading into pure speculation territory but I'm sure there's more to it. She had such a tight bond with Ralph. Even swapping the house with the Soods for the Simla Club pointed to the fact that she wanted to keep that house for Ralph to continue live there. Oh well, we'll never know will we?

I thought the final episode was excellent. I'm so sorry that it was the finale for the series rather than just the season. Season 2 got better and better. Aafrin was really coming in to his own. He was commanding in his speech to the new Viceroy's right hand man explaining what was coming between the British and Indians. Sooni and her three suitors were very sweet. Ian McLeod turned out to be one of the best characters in the show and was truly in love with Sooni. She, unfortunately for Ian, was in love with Mr. Kahn. The parents' choice of an arranged marriage with the Parsi lawyer wasn't the right one for Sooni but he too seemed like a decent man. You go, Sooni. Three fine, young men in love with you! Sooni became a favorite character. The last scene at the wedding when it started to snow was beautiful. This season Ralph Whelan went from being King of the Hill and pretty much running Simla to being a broken man who finally was free of all the trappings, climbing and striving. I think in the future he would have become even more Indian, and less British, in his political leanings and sympathies. He had no desire to ever leave India. When Madeline suggested they go to Chicago and start over he said, almost wistfully, "I can't leave. This is my home." I really wish the series hadn't been cancelled. I want to know what happens to these characters in the future and now we won't find out. Seasons 3-5 were supposed to span the years to 1947 and India's independence. I think Adam would play a major part in the last season fighting for India's independence as he would be a young man in his early twenties by that time. It would be ironic for Ralph's son to have such a role after Ralph had been at the highest level of the British Raj. I think there was more to the secrets that Cynthia was keeping regarding Ralph's parentage. She told him that his mother had an affair with her husband and that he was the child of that illicit affair but there seems to be more. Was she Ralph's mother? She cared about him so much. It seemed maternal. When she was smashing all of the antiques she said she wanted to wipe out the Whelans presence from the house for good. All and all, I thought the characters were complex and interesting to watch. I still have questions. What was the trajectory of the storylines going to be for Cynthia and Ralph, Aafrin and Alice, Sooni and Mr. Khan, Ian McLeod? The acting, costumes, set designs were well done. I wish they'd change their minds and bring it back and finish what they started. I know that won't happen but I wanted to put it out there. Wishful thinking! As you can tell I really enjoyed this series.

Yes. It definitely snows in the northern part of India where Simla is located. That's where the Himalayas are!

Sonia gets dressed up in her hot dress and does her hair and makeup and really tries to get Nick's attention. Stupid Nick wears jeans, t-shirt and a hoodie. Great effort, Nick. He is ridiculous and boring to boot. Why does Sonia care at all? Maybe she's sticking it out until the end and will be able to get a divorce after the six week "experiment" and leave Nick with his dogs. The dogs are the only thing he shows any sign of interest in. Sonia stop trying. As for Tom, another boring, selfish guy. Lily was trying so hard on that bus ride. He says she's high maintenance. It seems that Sonia and Lily have to do all the compromising, fitting in, and sublimating of themselves for these man-boys. Nick and Tom are not worth the time or energy. Please let Lily and Sonia decide to divorce them next week and move on. Nick can live with his dogs the rest of his life. Tom can live on his freaking bus and surf all day. I'm sick of both of them.

At the beginning of last night's episode it seemed like it was all falling into place perfectly for Aubrey. Aubrey takes Joe and Tai to the final three and wins the million dollars then Joe has to go and gorge on all that food at the reward and get so sick he had to be medevaced out of the game. Joe! He was so stupid for eating so much meat after 35 days of near starvation and the fact he rarely eats meat at home. What did he think was going to happen? It's not Cydney's responsibility to tell him what's going to happen in a few hours. I think he wanted to eat like a man possessed and then suffer the consequences which he thought was probably going to be a little gas. Idiot! I hope Tai and Aubrey make it to the final tribal and duke it out in front of the jury for the win. Between Aubrey and Tai I really have no idea who the two stooges, Jason and Scot, will vote for to win the million. It's a toss up. It's going to be a good finale. Maybe they'll let Tai take Mark home as a pet.

Yay Tai!!!! Awesome blindside. Loved it. I was watching with my dog and when Tai refused to give Scott the idol I yelled out loud at the tv "Awesome". My dog started jumping around with his tail wagging. I guess he hates Scott too! hahaha When Scott thought he had it in the bag and smugly turned to Tai and said "Are you gonna?" and Tai said "No" I was shocked and so glad at the same time. Sweet revenge! Seeing Scott's face melt from smug satisfaction to complete shock was bliss. Seeing Jason's reaction was even better! The two stooges.

Enjoyed last night's episode. The arrogant overly confident jerk, in this case, Nick, getting blindsided never gets old. Never. Cydney, Tai, Aubrey, Debbie, Julia, Michelle and Joe are good to stay. Scott not so much. Jason needs to be voted off soon. His attitude is just awful. Tai killed it on that challenge!

Neil handled the whole sorry episode with Sam with a lot of class and maturity. He's not into Sam and yet he credits her with changing and growing and is willing to stay friends with her in the future. That's something I wouldn't be able to do. She regrets her actions now and professes her "love" for Neil and how sorry she is for the way she treated him the first three weeks. Sam, you blew it by being unkind and uncouth. You had a winner and it could have been great but you blew it. Neil, sorry you're dealing with the aftermath of Sam and her crazy feelings that are all over the place. She wants what she can't have. It's too late for that.

Sam wasn't blindsided by Neil's decision. She said, through fake tears and trembling chin, that he was going to choose divorce and she deserved it. When he actually did her reaction was, once again, "me,me,me!". She ran out of the building crying and all the focus went back to her once again. I'm so glad Neil didn't fall for it and reconsider his decision. Neil is lucky to get out of that hell. When they showed the montage of Sam and Neil starting from their meeting each other at the wedding Neil's body language and facial expressions were totally different than at the end of the six weeks. He was smiling and expressive. He was laughing at Sam's weird, little dance down the aisle. He complemented her and enjoyed interacting with her friends and family. By the end of the six weeks he was like a walking zombie just trying to get by without any conflict. When Sam was crying and saying she thought of her Grandfather and Grandmother's relationship and that's what she wanted I was thinking that Sam's Grandma was probably nice to her husband, Sam's Grandpa, and vice versa. That's how it works, Sam . If you want a loving relationship you have to show some love to the other person. She was nothing but cruel, bitchy, uncaring, and condescending to Neil the whole time and then she wanted him to stay in the marriage. Umm, no. Any self-respecting person is not going to put up with your antics. I hope Sam learned from this experiment like she said she did. The next day at the house she was trying to act so cool and like she didn't care. Another act. Neil was very reasonable and tried to have an adult discussion with her. He's friend zoned Sam. No romantic feelings there and no physical attraction at all. I don't know why he wants to be friends. He's being way more polite than he needs to be. I hope, hope, hope he doesn't get roped in by Sam's manipulations and we hear that they're giving it another chance at the reunion show. That would be a big mistake.

Loved the blindside last night. ER Obama was completely taken by surprise since he thought he was playing everyone. Every time I see Debbie I think of Patti Smith. Anyone else see the resemblance? Just me. No offense to Patti Smith.

Neil asking for a divorce makes me respect him more than I did before and I already thought he was a good guy. So as it turns out he's not Sam's doormat or whipping post. She treated him rudely from day one and he decided internally early on to just get through to the end of the six weeks without setting off a firestorm. His emotions and feelings towards Sam were shut down by her behavior. He didn't pull an "Ashley" and act cold and spiteful to Sam. He just didn't like her anymore in a romantic or "married way." Does that make sense? He was pretty pleasant but not really interested any more. She was atrocious for weeks and on decision day she expected him to agree to stay married because she had thrown him a carrot for a few days before the finale to save face on national television. Good for Neil. Buh-bye Sam.

As always, the hometown visits were a treasure trove of cringe inducing moments and last night's visits didn't disappoint. Here are a few random comments: Amanda - the top she wore was terrible and she kept tugging at it to stay up. She looked awkward and uncomfortable the whole time they were at the beach. Her daughters should not have been subjected to that. Leave the kids out of this hot mess. Were they both wearing tiny, mini, knee-high gladiator sandals? Oh yeah, every kid needs those to run around and play on the beach! hahaha Very weird. Lauren - I dozed off during Ben's visit with the Stepford family. Boring and snoozeworthy. Caila - The food looked good. Did Caila's Mom have braces? Caila's not into Ben no matter what she tells her Mom. JoJo - This is when everything kicked in. As someone mentioned earlier, the note from the ex looked like it was written by a 7th grade girl. I think the i's were dotted with hearts. That was producer driven drama. The Mom drinking straight from the bottle was perfection. Hey, Mom, go for it! I don't think the house was really their home. I think they rented it for the show. The brother that has appeared on other reality shows wants his second 15 minutes of fame. If his sister is the next Bachelorette he'll be thrilled! Prediction: I think Ben's going to propose to Lauren and JoJo will be the next Bachelorette. So transparent and so predictable. No suspense for the finale at all. At least, if the previews are any indication, we're in for some serious man tears from Ben and that's always entertaining.

Sam loves all of this. Being the center of attention feeds her ego whether it's negative, positive or anything in between. If we all stopped posting about her she'd be so depressed. Of course, I'm here posting about her too. So I'm guilty of feeding the beast known as Sam. Hi Sam! I know you read every one of these posts. Loser. Hi Neil! You're cool. Hope you're able to come out of this experience with a little bit of self esteem left.

Neil isn't gay or a virgin. I work at a major research university and every other guy on this campus is a "Neil." Smart, quirky, bit of a nerd, socially awkward. These types actually do pretty well in this setting and are quite successful. Neil is polite and respectful. These aren't bad qualities to have in life. He treats women as equal partners. He said he speaks differently to his grandmother than he does to his guy friends as an example of why he speaks differently on camera than privately or something to that effect. I'm paraphrasing. He doesn't want to act like a complete idiot on camera and say or do something he'll regret later. Sam is so fake. She's acting for the cameras too whether she wants to admit it or not. She's trying to get a rise out of Neil and when it doesn't work she becomes a pouting brat. Looking back on it, Sam is going to regret the image she's portrayed on this show and will probably do a lot of backtracking or blame it on the editing. At the end of the six weeks, if Neil decides to get a divorce, Sam is going to be very upset that she came off as such a bratty, whiny little witch. Ashley is physically repulsed by David. It's painful to watch. So, Tres went out drinking with his father and uncle on Father's Day. It's not the end of the world, Vanessa.

My gaydar pings so loud and clear for Mitch it's hard to believe his parents are picking his "bride." Also, is it just me or did anyone else hear the pinging for Kevin too? No way that wedding was going to take place. Good job parents!

Sam is ridiculous. Her image of a "manly man" (her words) is a douchy, frat bro. Neil isn't that at all. He's a quality person as someone stated earlier. He has manners, is reserved, intelligent, a bit quirky and doesn't throw his weight around, swill beer, belch and boss her around. I prefer a "Neil" type any day of the week. As for the beard, those are a dime a dozen now a days and every hipster from Brooklyn to Berkeley is sporting one. I think Neil has his own style and it's not "basic" like Sam's. Oh, Sam, those shorts! Let just say that Sam is not quirky, witty, funny or a joy to be around. Her personality is grating and she doesn't have the vision to see a good guy that's right in front of her. It's ironic that both Sam's mother and father liked Neil after meeting him and knowing him for ten minutes. Continue with the verbal attacks, Sam. I hope kind, sweet Neil drops you like a hot potato when the six weeks are up. Sam is a hot mess! Neil's mother and grandmother seemed like such lovely people. Neil, don't saddle them with Sam!

I like Neil. He seems to be smart, funny in a quirky way, well-spoken, a bit reserved, and not rude or overbearing. Sam, on the other hand, is trying to be quirky, zany, funny, sarcastic, and she is so annoying. Come on, Sam. The onesie was a joke. A joke. Get it. He came out in it for a laugh and then was going to change out of it, not wear it the whole night. Neil needs someone who is smart, witty, and has a better sense of humor. Sam is self-absorbed and is trying too hard. When she said she didn't find Neil attractive, or whatever she said to that effect, he looked hurt but handled it well. He's much more mature than Sam. She is so childish and selfish. Even her Dad and other family members seemed worried about the manic way she was acting at the wedding ceremony. She is not quirky, as the experts kept repeaitng, she's strange. Neil is level-headed and stable. He'll need the patience of a saint to deal with her. Poor guy being saddled with that mess!