ForReal

I came here hoping (knowing) the recap would be more entertaining than the episode, and I was right. There seemed to be too much information missing for this to make sense, and they should all feel embarrassed when they see this show in reruns (including Max and Nev).

Yeah, since we were shown from the start that Claire was not as invested in the relationship as he was and was quite upfront about it, I thought it was kind of jerky of him to break it off and walk away right in the middle of the dance floor. She did not deserve that. I do sense tingly feelings between her and Melendez, but I don't think it would be good for either of them personally or professionally. I think their backgrounds are too similar -- tough upbringings, overcoming the odds to be successful surgeons -- and that it wouldn't last. This may be cynical of me, but his last relationship was with a beautiful blond trust-fund baby/attorney -- to follow up with a relationship with someone under him in rank just doesn't seem to fit. That said, if they do put them together, I hope they live happily ever after, as I like both of them. Ideally, though, I'd like to see them become friends.

ITA. At the end, when Triff "accepted" being Godparent to the twins, McGee was all baffled -- "What just happened?" Uh, dude, you don't have to let a serial killer be your kids' Godparent if you don't want to. Pretty simple. I confess I skipped through a lot of the bad guy conversations. It felt a little too dark for me for this show. Not that it was bad, but just not my taste. I just feasted on the Gibbs and Fornell parts.

I keep this in mind. She's like a typical 17-year-old high school student who is out of place in the real world with these other women. I know they have had young girls on the show before (and certainly other reality tv shows have), but I can't help but think Kyla will improve a lot over the next five years. I can hope.

I knew there would have to be a bump in the road to Khrystyana's journey, and this was an acceptable one for me, if there has to be one (and this is ANTM, so there does). She said she was still rattled by last week's revelations and felt uncomfortable posing with men who might touch her inappropriately -- very valid, in my humble opinion. Of course, she'll have to get over that if she wants to keep modeling, but it did seem a lot to ask of these girls, to bare their souls and pour out trauma, then toss it aside and model in slippery bikinis with men. I thought Sandra made a comment about not being sure if she could model with men because it might be disrespectful to her fiancé? Gonna have to get over that if she want to continue in modeling. I do think she would be perfect for a make-up ad or skincare ad. Rio...is just so mean. That little quirk in her eyebrow makes her look devilish, and she's certainly playing the part. She seemed so grounded and cool in the beginning. Kyla looked gorgeous, but it feels like she kinda gets lucky now and then. It will be interesting to see if she can pull it together for the long haul.

I hate to split hairs on craziness, but the sister seems as out there as Kim. She says in point 6 that Kim "had never even met the guy before that," then says in point 8 "Her, Matt, and Joe already all knew each other. Matt and Joe hate each other. Matt and Kim have snap chatted for years and seen each other's faces plenty of times. They used to video chat constantly and he's sent her multiple pictures." Or did she mean that an actor played the part of Matt? I'm not feeling like she's a reliable source... "And to top it off, this episode was terrible. Probably the worst episode of the show ever, or at least top two. " Totally agree with this.

Sometimes I wonder if they really do want to meet the catfish...even if it is the person in the pics, it still means dealing with real life baggage instead of the flirty, mutual cheerleading that goes on via texting.

I think it's not that they've been raised in a vacuum of positivity, it's more that they are afraid to be wrong or different or less than. My daughter pointed out that many of the girls she knows who would claim to have been bullied were certainly guilty of bullying behavior themselves, but don't/won't cop to it. I think young people have been raised to sway people to their point of view ("I was wronged -- she was mean to me!") instead of standing firm and saying "I don't care what you think, I believe in what I"m doing" -- and then accepting the consequences as they come.

Every week I like Khrystyana more, so the only suspense I'm feeling is when she will get derailed, at least temporarily. I'm over Rio, I think she just isn't nice under it all. Still like Jeana and want her to make it to the final. My daughter and I were watching and had a discussion on what bullying really is. I think everyone has had their feelings hurt and felt put down in their lifetime, but is that really what bullying means? If so, it's become a huge umbrella term for any time someone does or says something unkind. I'm not saying that particular action *isn't* bullying, but I thought this whole PSA thing was a stretch and encouraged the girls to dwell on negative feelings. Even though I am glad Christina left, I feel like she's been edited to look like public enemy #1. When Tyra called out the first seven names and left the two standing there and said something like, "For the first time in ANTM history..." I thought she was going to say, "Two girls are going home at the same time," and I was already saying, "No, it's not the first time!" when she said they all tied for best pic. Then I was kinda bummed both Christina and Erin didn't go home. I like Erin and agree she didn't have her best picture shown, but I think she will go home before long. I kinda cringed at the coldness of her reveal, that she left the dying father of her child because she couldn't deal.

I've been watching this show a long time, and while I feel it's seriously crappy for people to set up fake profiles and play with other peoples' emotions as an ego stroke, it's only slightly less crappy to willfully believe the fantasy that one can find true love with a hot body that won't ever visit or videochat and that it's the bond that's developed between them that keeps the love alive rather than the pics. The victims are just less blatant liars.

I get exasperated by the demand for two sinks in the bathroom. That's just one more sink to clean. Even if we had two sinks, I can't imagine my husband and I brushing our teeth at exactly the same time, ever.

That's funny, I was totally on the wife's side. When you have little kids having bad dreams or wetting the bed, who wants to have to run upstairs all the time -- and I doubt the husband would be making the trek. Even when the kids got older, they would have plenty of space for privacy with the square footage they were looking at. And I confess, I thought it was kind of obscene that they wanted 10,000 square feet for seven people. Ten thousand square feet is like a small house per person. I was kinda pissed when she caved and went with her husband's choice. I can only hope she negotiated for a full-time housekeeper while off-screen.

I thought this episode was half dull, half confusing. It just didn't make sense to me why Garrett wouldn't show his face. I don't understand why the unfaithful long-distance relationship guy (who apparently came to Kansas without a problem) was so mad that he hacked Garrett's FB account (and did what? No one ever said). If all this made Garrett hesitant to get involved, well, you sure couldn't tell from his actions. He was quick to say he loved Zac but couldn't allow him to come to Kansas? Huh? As usual, the best questions were the ones they didn't ask. How old was Garrett? What does Zac do for a living? What do their families think after watching the show? I feel like this was another episode of people using the show to pay for them to meet. That's the only explanation that makes sense to me. I think their attraction and attachment to each other was real, and I think all the rest was a bunch of bull.

Didn't Bernadette get her the interview, and then Penny and the manager bonded over their fear of Bernadette? I believe that was the point that justified his hiring Penny.

I figured the lawyer was not long for this world when Jack was trying to press her for information at the diner and pulled back because she wanted to preserve the friendship, saying something along the lines of the lawyer being the only friend she had in town -- death sentence right there. I loved the pep in Fornell's step now that he's become a PI. I would totally watch a show with just Gibbs and Fornell. That's pretty much what I watch for now, come to think of it.

As I watched, I, too, lost all respect for Rio and completely stopped rooting for her. You are right, it was completely senseless for her to attack Sandra. Later I thought, maybe she was told to stir up some drama to make herself more memorable, and this is what she came up with. I do hope there is an apology, but I'm not holding my breath. I feel like she's not as great as she initially seemed and she can't be as stupid as she made herself look in this episode. I would have preferred to see Christina go over Coura -- thought Coura might have turned it around a little given the right opportunity. I thin she was cursed by being praised so much off the bat. She had nowhere to go but down. Christina to me isn't attractive in her photos or in her personality, so the only reason I can see to keep her is to maintain the drama level.

Why are they so hard on Mary? Yeah, she's a previous catfish, but she's kind of a sad soul, so I cut her some slack. They were so rude to her, and even though she won't see the scenes until after it airs, they were so unkind -- as were the people who posted all the hate to her after the first show. She didn't deserve this, no matter what she's done before. I thought Adam was a real dick (ahem) for the way he treated her.

I got a lot of mixed messages in this episode. I had a problem with Claire not wanting the better surgeon called in just because he's a creep. The other surgeon said their first duty was to their patient, and I agree, so I was surprised that Claire argued otherwise and was willing to let the patient be collateral damage in her battle against the creep. I lost a lot of respect for Claire and a little for the other surgeon who acquiesced. I liked when Melendez opened up to his ex at the end. I thought it was decent of him the way he handled her suggestion that maybe they had made a mistake breaking up, but I was a little put off by his statement that his arrogance makes him a good surgeon but would make him a bad husband. Wonder how he thinks that arrogance will work for him as a father.

There's really not much to say about this episode, is there? The catfish wasn't a catfish and she was the more honest person, besides. Why that guy called the show in is the real mystery -- he could have gone to see her himself to see if needed to know if there were feelings between them that would preclude his "engagement." Yes, she cancelled twice on him, but it's hard to believe the show's intervention was really necessary given that she seemed pretty open to meeting with them. Lawrence did indeed get a free ride, considering he wasted everyone's time, including mine.

Or maybe it was a kindness. I think the kid should be shielded from the airing of all this family drama.

I agree, it sounds far-fetched and bogus to me, the dog drama, but I wish there was some explanation for why they aren't sharing scenes much this season. I kinda hate to see it end this way between them and/or their characters.

There are *no* words that guarantee staying together will happen, so you are right, the wedding script can say anything that has meaning to the people involved. I had a friend whose husband moved in with his girlfriend a few months before the divorce was final and wanted to take the kids on a vacation. She very strongly felt that he should wait until the divorce was final before bringing the kids and the new girlfriend together. I respected her feelings on the subject, but I kinda wondered what difference it made since the marriage was definitely over and the new girlfriend was definitely established and the divorce was definitely happening. That said, in this episode, it felt like the woman hadn't really taken the time to let her marriage die (given that her husband was still so engaged in it and that she changed her mind fairly quickly). Yes, she is free to make whatever choices she wants in regards to behavior, and we are free to have whatever opinions we choose regarding her choices.

I thought she was unstable and possibly on the spectrum and that the show exploited her. They just could not cram these two into the usual format. Not a good episode.

All those promos promising all kinds of twists and turns this season, and this was completely by the book. I agree with the recap -- she was happier with her fantasy, and I actually felt more sorry for him than for her at the end. He did own up to his mistakes in the end and his feelings were (apparently) sincere, but she shut him down with no mercy once she saw he wasn't Ab Guy. As said above, nobody developed as a person from this. One other thing I noticed -- in the email from her, she typed his phone number and it started out 917 and then was blurred, yet when they searched on his number, they used 916 which was a Sacramento area code. What's up with that?

DAMMIT!!!! I'M RIGHT BACK IN AGAIN!!!! I know, I know. I used to watch this show regularly but gave it up several seasons ago. Just like you described above, I'm back in this cycle!