mamadrama

Oh, God, the new guy has an accent like mine. Has my state produced ANOTHER 90 Day cast member?!

I swear for a second I thought Jess's guy was holding up a mask, like a church fan, in front of his face.

They were crazy AF but at least most of it was realish.

I miss the innocent days of Mo and Danielle with her binder of evidence.

*snort* Jess didn't get the memo about having to look exactly like she did the day before for the sake of Tell All consistency. Or maybe her hair just magically straightened during the last "commercial break."

She could even turn it into some strip club appearances if she plays her cards right. Successful women can make loads of money doing that.

Why is Eric? Why is Larissa, Debbie, and Colt? So many questions...

Holy crap! I shouldn't laugh at other people's physical traits but Natalie? Yikes! Is she well?

She'll make far more on Cam Soda than she does on TLC.

Skinny Colt is still Asshole Colt.

I can definitely see them getting married-to other people. Larissa and Eric are riding this TLC train as far as it can go. They're not really dating.

Shaun is literally just phoning it in.

I realize that Angela probably led him on about the baby, but... really? She's 50+ and has custody of her grandkids. What made him believe she would do this in the first place? Some of that's on Michael.

My little guy got sick in Saturday and we thought we were losing him. Turned out to be Lyme Disease (ticks have built up tolerance to a lot of meds) and the infection was progressing into his spinal fluid. He has iv antibiotics now and is doing much better. I've cried and cried all weekend.

With the way some we're acting I'd be surprised if they have done it at all lately. (Except for Eric and Larissa. Nobody will ever convince me that they've had sex with each other.)

I have no problem with Sarah or Mark. My problem is specifically with the editing and material in the series.

One thing that we learned from the leaked Tell All footage is that Shaun DOES ask hard questions...they just edit that shit out. She's also working from a loose script. She's a better host than how she's made to look with the final product.

I think this is a good supplement in the NXIVM cannon, but on its own it's just not that interesting. It feels like they're going out of their way to ignore or gloss over the best parts. If someone were to ask me if this was worth it I'd recommend that they also watch the 20/20 episodes, listen to the podcast...hell, maybe even watch the Lifetime movie where Catherine is a superhero. I would've advise this on its own, though. I'd rather hear more about the poor Mexican girl who was shut away and basically kept hostage in a room in Lauren's house for 18 months-punishment for asking permission to date a guy.

I think these are generally two different things, but also complementary in this case. I believe in a lot of mysticism and I consider myself a (fairly) "normal" person and I do still exist in the here and now. It's not any stranger to believe in some of this stuff than it is to believe in a lot of the stories and teachings of Christianity, Islam, Taoism, Buddhism... Not every person who believes in mysticism isolates themselves from family/friends and spends a shit ton of money to join a cult. As for joining Keith, and others like him, I believe @Twopper hit the nail on the head. Most cults target people who are "missing" something and the teachings, rituals, & cameraderie do a good job of filling that void. Where it becomes interesting is that NXIVM, unlike other groups (like the People's Temple), wasn't looking for broken people who were marginalized and living on the fringe of society-they specifically went after intelligent, successful people with lots of spending money. Like Scientology, a level of narcissism and self-importance was needed and almost as important as the potential members' "void." Rather than wooing members by convincing them that a community of people who loved and accepted them was waiting, they played into their ego. And I think that's why they didn't put a lot of effort into seeking A-list people. They wanted folks who were successful, but not at the top (like Allison Mack) so that their spiel of "You're soooo smart and talented and successful but with US you could reach the top" would actually work. They didn't want Paris Hilton or Ivanka Trump-they were too high profile and had stuff (even if just superficial) going for them. They wanted the Bronfman ladies-rich heiresses who seemed to be floundering in their wealth, didnt have a lot of close friends or run with the beautiful people, and had no real direction. (Clare was excited about getting her sash because she said it was one of the first things she'd ever "earned.") They were literally playing to their egos by convincing people that they'd be even MORE successful than they already were AND that they (because of their success, brains, and "ethics") were going to band together to literally save the world. For people who already had a strong opinion of themselves, that must've rocked their world. As Mark said, nobody joins a cult; they join something because they think it's good. Keith & Co were just really good at slowly roping these people in by offering short-term measurable benefits (feeling good after the 5 or 16 day workshops) and then slowly chipping away at their ego and emotions and turning up the heat until they suddenly realized that they were chickens being boiled alive and it was, by then, too late to jump out of the pot.

Consider this: They're filming themselves so the camera had to be set up and in place BEFORE Tony could race to the trailer. He then had to wait while Angela set one up in 3 places inside. Another one THEN had to be set up, again, outside by his truck to get him storming out. Not only was that whole scene pre-planned and acted, they actually had preset blocking for it.

Tony's acting is so bad that I cringe.

I was getting ready to make a joke about 70s porn stars, but you said it better.

Hmmm...I DO enjoy a hot mess. (Of the television variety, not of the aforementioned little kids cake/spaghetti.)

I have clearly found my people...

Am I the only one who doesn't like watching little kids smash cake into their mouths?