sleepyjean

Mohamed's meeting with the attorney solidified my certainty that he's either a rookie con man, or he's just terrible at it. Otherwise, he would have done his homework before he got on the plane. He should already know how long it takes to get a green card, and how marital finances work in the US. I don't think Mo is a hardened criminal, and in fact, he's pretty naive if he thinks Danielle is going to be open and honest about the finances from now on. After all, when the phones were shut off, she didn't apologize, didn't show remorse, didn't say she'd never do it again. Didn't mention any of the other bills she hasn't paid, and you know there have to be more. She didn't want him to leave, and so in her mind, that justified the deceit. She will find other justifications for her deceit in the future. Danielle has successfully drawn him into her vortex of emotional extortion. If he actually marries her, this is all going to get a lot more complicated for him, and it will be much more difficult to extricate himself than he knows. I was really hoping he'd smarten up and leave. But there's still time. And count me in with those who were creeped out when that door clicked shut and weepy victim Danielle turned off like a light switch. The cold, hard edge in her voice was downright chilling. Is it the ponytail that makes the evil Danielle come out? I don't think she is evil, but she was clearly cultivating a relationship with Evelin as a way to manipulate Justin back into the fold. And I knew if she was invited, she would invite the rest of the family. I called it last week. Sure enough, the invitation was barely out of Justin's mouth when his mother started into on inviting everyone else. I think . Seeing Evelin and Martha crow over how they'd "won" was a little off-putting. Justin, this is your future. Every birthday, holiday, and major event. Get used to it. And ditto to whoever said upthread that it's weird that nobody from Evelin's family is coming to the wedding. Not one person?When it's sooooo important to her? Interesting, that. Then they're well matched. As far as I can tell, she has very high self esteem, but doesn't seem to have much going for her in terms of her own personal success, educational, financial, professional, or otherwise. I think that's what he was trying to do. She's clearly not interested in the family business. Cassia didn't come here just for a green card. She also came to find an attentive, financially successful man who would support her, cater to her every whim, and make her the center of his world. That's not Jason. I get the impression she thought all she'd have to do is show up and be young and hot, and he's be wrapped around her little finger. It has finally dawned on her that that's not the case. I can't tell if he really does "work" a lot, or if she is upset by any amount of time he spends focused on something besides her. The man can't be ebaying 24/7, and he doesn't appear to have anything else going on. How busy can he be? I thought he sounded like a 14 year old when he was giving his little speech. I was waiting for his voice to crack. Still, I think we got a little more insight into family dynamics at play. I get the sense that none of the kids are close to the father. They tolerate him and respect him as a parent, but they don't particularly like him and they work together as a team to manage him. I also get the feeling that most of the communication between parents and children is through the mother. I doubt the father speaks to his kids very often. I have to say, if you're going to be racist, be up front about it like Danny's father. But I'm not particularly upset about him. He's an ignorant, self-important loudmouth who is 100% sure his way is the right way, even though everyone else knows his world view is bass ackwards and 60 years behind the times. And he's never going to change. His opinions matter not at all. It's hard for me to put energy into being offended by someone who is such a joke. As for Chelsea and Yamir...those two are just naive about their future as they were in Nicaragua. Still no game plan. Still no jobs. Still no clue that they have effectively ended Yamir's run as a successful performing artist who sells records and performs in venues where people pay money to see him. I mean hell, even if he had the talent, I bet he couldn't even get a job as a studio musician in Galesburg. His illustrious "music career" will be limited to laying down tunes in the basement and maybe doing the odd wedding or kids party. Sorry Yamir. That ship has sailed. But it'll be fun to tell the grandkids about how gramps used to be a big star.

Yes, what is that accent of Ryan's? I think I would've appreciated the Maybelline challenge more if they'd shown us a few up close shots of the details on all of these projects. Particularly the jewelry and accessories. Brett's fish scale bag was underwhelming. It seemed like too many ideas fighting each other. The lumpy blue ends were just bulky and odd. Tanya's Hawaiian ensemble was very predictable, and when one of the judges said the fabric was "crunchy" I knew she was sunk. The little bag was better than Brett's bag though. The judges seemed to like Gigi. The hat was good. The hat box was good. I wasn't wowed by them, but they were good. I didn't like the feathered headband, and I don't want to think about the poor dead gators. Eva's mask was an interesting idea. They didn't give us a good look at the jewelry, so I have nothing say about that. Ryan's embellished pink fluffy sweater didn't strike me as any different from all of her other pink fluffy sweaters with stuff hanging off of them. And the cashmere tights - ookaaaaaay. Didn't get what was so great about those either. Diane loved it, though I can't imagine her wearing any of it. Orley's outfit was nice. The NYC boots were not my cup of tea. I didn't like the heels at all, and I wonder if going so far overbudget will hurt him. It didn't seem like a good business decision, but I guess he was going all-in to try to win this thing. I'm sick to death of Simon Miller's "indigo-dyed" this and that. It's all blue. I like blue. But when everything you make is the exact same shade of blue, it's a real snore. I liked the top they wound up using. They were very lucky Anna put the kibosh on the chain mail. I don't remember anyone else. Oh, except for Wes. Pretty dress, very South Beach, and the ombre was lovely. But the fit on the bodice was so loose, I kept waiting for the model to expose herself.

That photo just makes me think his life in Tunis must've been really miserable, and/or he has absolutely no way of getting back there. It also makes me think back to the first episode when Danielle spoke about how important it is to have someone to share physical affection with. Only she's not sharing it with him, she's imposing it on him. She has tried to brush off the fact that he is not affectionate, but if I could ask her one question, I would ask why a woman who clearly needs so much physical contact is with someone who never instigates it and does not reciprocate it. I guess I know the answer to that. She's desperate for some love and romance and will go to any lengths to get whatever crumbs she can. Her only prospect is Mohamed, so if she has to wrestle the affection out of him, that's what she'll do. But I have to wonder how she rationalizes all of this to herself in the privacy of her own thoughts.

Every time I see those two, I shudder. It's a visceral reaction. She's just so ...so...in his space all the time. I keep thinking what it must feel like to have someone hanging on me, grabbing my face like that, when I'm clearly not into it, and I just find it all so repulsive.

He may have looked uncomfortable, but he did not look surprised. I think he knew good and well Sue was going to do exactly what she did. It's probably why they had the BBQ in the first place, since she was the only guest. What would she do if SHE had a normal 9-5 job? It's odd to me that someone who is such a skinflint is taking on a young woman with zero earning potential. I'm making all sorts of assumptions here, but the vibe I get is that Cassia has zero intention of contributing to the family income. Shouldn't any of these people have some money? It seems like all of these people came to the US with nothing, expecting to be supported by their fiance. Presumably all of them had to work at home, right? Here's what I don't get: Justin's family is a bunch of strangers to her. The few interactions she's had with the brother and sister-in-law have not been positive. She's only seen his mom a couple of times. How can it be SO important for her to be involved with them? It's like she wants his family involved purely for the principle of the thing. Which, to me, is stupid. If my fiance is cautious about some people he knows very well, for damn sure I, who knows them not at all, would be cautious too. This is what gnaws at me about this show. It's expensive and difficult to visit and spend time to really get to know each other. But in the end, isn't it more expensive to gamble your future by marrying someone you don't know very well and taking on a long term financial burden? I guess I just don't see how that's better. This is the sort of thing that normally comes to light gradually, after knowing your partner for a while. It takes time for people to build enough comfort and trust in each other to be totally honest about their background and expose all of their warts. But they're not taking the time to really know each other, so she's trying to pry things out of him he's just not comfortable revealing yet. Danielle/Mo and Jason/Cassia have the same issue. They haven't spent enough time together to really know the person they are marrying. And they will all pay for it in the end.

It will be interesting to see if Daya does another amazing personality transformation now that the kid is out of the picture. Daya will be the center of Brett's attention again, and like the other foreign fiances, will have absolutely nothing to do all day. I wonder what Brett's housemates think of all this. Brett doesn't seem to be in any hurry to move out of there. Although you'd think an engaged/married couple would want their privacy.

Or....Justin has confided in her and she doesn't feel his reason is sufficient excuse to alienate himself from his family. I've seen this time and time again. "Yes your mom/dad/sister/brother is a toxic ass. But it's your mom/dad/sister/brother, so you should tolerate it. At least for birthdays and major holidays." So who is right? Who is being selfish? Him, for not inviting his family to make her happy? Or her for insisting he invite them and spend his wedding day uncomfortable and unhappy? Neither one of them seems to be thinking "How can I make my fiance happy?" They seem unable or unwilling to compromise, and that's a red flag. Someone upthread had the idea of eloping and then having a ceremony in Colombia. That would be a great compromise (assuming they can afford it.). Why hasn't it occurred to them?

The smartest thing Mohamed can do is get a job where he has to work night shift. He can use the excuse that it pays more. Then he would rarely have to see Danielle. During the scene where she revealed that she'd been fired, two things came to mind. First, I would love to know what was in that letter. And second, how different this scene would've played out if these were two people who actually cared for each other. Danielle knew not to expect any comfort from Mohamed, and she sure didn't get any. There's no delusion there. She 100% knows he's doesn't love her. But she's determined to keep him, no matter what. On a related note, who is paying for the English class? Interesting to see the Daya redemption arc. I haven't forgotten the Daya who didn't hug Brett back, who tersely ordered him to go get her luggage, and who complained about her ring in no less than three separate conversations before she'd been off the plane for 12 hours. As someone commented above, Justin is a guy who doesn't tell his family much. I'm sure he has his reasons. But his mother sees Evelin as her "in" and is working her as best she can. I don't think she's trying to be outright manipulative in an evil way, but essentially, that's what it is. She is manipulating Evelin to get closer to her son. And Evelin is a willing participant. I personally don't think they should invite just the mom, because I don't believe she would keep the information to herself. She will tell her other children, and they will show up uninvited. Justin will be angry, Jake and Jen will be rude and self-righteous, the mother will weep about how she just wants her sons to be close, and Evelin will ignore the chaos and bad feelings and go on telling herself how important it is to be surrounded by family, even when they are people you don't like, don't respect, and who don't support your relationship. Evelin and Justin really need to get on the same page about his family because otherwise, it will be a bone of contention for the rest of their lives together.

Well, and I have to wonder if Evelin is full of it when it comes to that anyway. If family is sooooo important to her, what's she doing with a near-stranger, thousands of miles away from her family? Why is is even contemplating permanence with a man who isn't close to his own family, knowing she'll rarely see her own family, they won't be involved in her wedding let alone the other big moments of her life, and her kids will barely know their grandparents?

Nah. I think they're about even. He seems like a case of arrested development to me.

I want to like Ryan. I feel like I should like Ryan. But I'm not there. Probably because I think it's deeply affected to have a signature color (especially one as bland as that) and wear it to death. I used to like blush pink before Ryan came along. I did like her ad though. I like "X-ring" lady too. Although for the life of me, I don't get what's so great about her jewelry. I've seen both the X ring and the X bracelet in other stores, and nothing else in her collection stood out to me. The Grey Ant people are painful to watch. Everything about them shrieks "I am so uncomfortable. Please don't talk to me." I don't know what they're going to do when the woman has that baby, which seems to be on target to happen before this contest is over. She seems to think she can just pop the kid out and go right back to work. Unless she's got full time child care, that seems unlikely. And how is the guy going to function without her? He does not seem equipped at all to successfully manage and navigate the social interactions required by this type of situation.

It fascinates me that the DVF kiss-off bag is bigger and bigger every week. By the end of this show, she'll be using a DVF wheelbarrow to hand out the consolation gifts.

This just in: Danielle is even dumber than I thought. I was looking over the green card process on the Dept. of Homeland Security site and came across the information on the Affidavit of Support. When you marry your K-1 beloved, they file for an Adjustment of Status to permanent residency. That's the $1000 Danielle was talking about last week. You have to have a sponsor to apply for permanent residency. That sponsor has to sign an Affidavit of Support where s/he assumes responsibility for the immigrant's financial support for TEN YEARS, or until the immigrant becomes a citizen, whichever comes first. That commitment is legally binding, even if the couple divorces. If Mohammed wanted to, he could marry Danielle, get his permanent residency, then leave her and sue her for financial support. Yep, he could sit on his ass all day, and chase girls all night, and Danielle would still have to write him a check each month. And if he manages to get any government assistance, she's the one on the hook to pay Uncle Sam back. So even though she doesn't have two thin nickels to rub together, he can sue for what little she does have. Yet another instance of Danielle ignoring the possible consequences of her little Tunisian love affair. She has no problem playing fast and loose with her kids' financial security.

You're making a couple of big leaps there. According to Chelsea's linkedin profile, she was in college for four years, 2006 – 2010, and studied Spanish Language and Literature and Music Business. Not the most marketable degree, but no different from the millions of other liberal arts grads out there. It looks like during college she studied abroad in Chile, and when she came back, she held a job while still in school. After graduation, she joined the Peace Corps and went to Nicaragua. She was with the Peace Corps for a year, then stayed on in Nicaragua with a regular job for almost another full year. And now she's Which I guess tells us the outcome of the "let's move to Chicago" discussion in this week's episode. But my point is, she's no slouch. She got her degree, while holding a job and then did the Peace Corp thing, which is both admirable and no walk in the park. Looking at her work/education record, she doesn't appear to be a lazy leech on society. Possibly her parents are supplementing her lifestyle in the form of money and/or free housing, but at least she's productive. As for Jen, we've only seen her briefly. She's mean, intrusive, and rude for sure, but I don't understand how that equates to being drunk.

And speaks perfect English. I wonder if her age has anything to do with it? She's almost 30 isn't she? I wonder if it gets more difficult after 30 to hook an American, or at least one who is relatively young, assuming many of the guys are looking for something they can't get here, chiefly a woman who is younger, better looking, more "trainable", and much more willing to do all of the cooking/cleaning/caretaking.

Based on the little bit of performing we saw Yamir do on the show, and the two Myla Vox videos I watched on YouTube, that exact sort of "semi-rap" is exactly what Yamir did with Myla Vox, except it was limited to short bursts here and there (as opposed to a whole song.) If I remember correctly, when he performed at the Myla Vox event, all we saw him do was go "boom boom." I don't think he actually sings. It was sad watching Yamir audition for two people who probably haven't worked with a successful talent in 40 years, don't know jack about reggaeton, and have absolutely nothing to contribute to his career. Surely Chicago is big enough that there's some sort of pop music scene, but maybe they couldn't find anyone with legit industry cred who was willing to be part of the show. TLC is rapidly becoming the Jerry Springer of networks. I can't blame anyone for turning them down. I find myself disliking the Chelsea/Yamir situation less. I'm not necessarily falling in love with the two of them, but my anger is lessening as it becomes more and more obvious that it's not so much selfishness as immaturity and a major lack of foresight. These two didn't think any of this through. At all. So now reality enters the picture, and here is the rude awakening. Myla Vox is over? Oh no! Move away from my parents? Oh no! Do anything at all besides sit in my parent's basement? Oh no! Having said that, I didn't hear Chelsea refuse to move to Chicago. I heard her say that after being away for a long time, she missed her parents and didn't want to move again. And her parents probably missed her too. Those are perfectly legit feelings. However, now she has to balance those feelings against a loved one's dreams and wants and desires. It will be interesting to see if she loves him enough to be selfless. And it will be interesting to see if his career is important enough for him to push the issue with her. So far, he's been completely passive about everything.

I feel like I understand Justin a little better now. I still think he's a tool (King of the bedroom, my ass), but I get him more now. I think Justin is from one of those families where the members want to believe they are close, and if asked, will say that they are close, when in reality, they hardly spend any time together, don't particularly like each other, and aren't very supportive, caring, or engaged with each other. They aren't really in each other's lives, yet when something big happens, like a marriage, all of a sudden it's "family family family" and everyone wants to be involved and have an opinion. And as is common with these kinds of families, there's the one member who isn't all that interested in maintaining the fiction. Justin is that guy. He's not used to having his family in business, doesn't want them in his business, and he resents their sudden intrusion and interest in his life. Especially so because the brother and his wife are using "we're family" as an excuse for their rude, judgmental, intrusive, and otherwise obnoxious behavior. On top of that, the mother is trying to guilt him into a closer relationship with his brother, even though she knows deep down you can't make people feel something they don't. There's a reason why they aren't close, and her wanting things to be different doesn't make it so. It's kind of fascinating to see the brother and his wife go into victim mode. They can't believe Justin doesn't want their input, doesn't want them at the wedding, etc. Yet if they had any self-awareness at all, they'd see the obvious: Justin doesn't particularly like his brother, isn't very close to him, doesn't value his opinion, and doesn't care for his wife. And all of it is pushing Justin even further away. Evelin, meanwhile, is from one of those families that actually is close. (I assume, although we haven't seen any homesickness or tearful video chats with her family.) She doesn't understand the way Justin's family operates. She just wants Justin's family to be as close as hers, and wants to fix it. It's a little arrogant actually, when you think about it, thinking she she knows how they should be and that she can walk in and fix a family dynamic that's been in play for 30+ years. I hope if they do get married, she lets it be and isn't on him all the time, trying to fix it.

I am now at the point where Danielle and Mohamed amuse me. Each week I look forward to seeing what new tactic he will employ to keep her off of him, and how she will defeat him with her single-minded determination to cling to him as if her next breath depends on it. Holding his drink with both hands was a nice try, but she blows right by that and goes right into the two-handed arm clutch. I thought he might be onto something with the whole "walking around with his hands clasped behind his back" technique, but nope. She latched right on, even though she looked awkward as hell with her hand behind his back, looking for all the world like she was clinging to the hem of his shirt. It doesn't matter where they are or what they are doing. If that hand is empty,by God she's going to hold it! And I don't think it much matters whether that hand is behind his back, down his pants, or picking his nose. I think that daughter is probably marking the days off on her wall, like a prison inmate. Freedom from that emotional vampire is probably her driving motivation in life. That sneeze was epic. The spray was almost cartoon-like. Doctors say can't get ebola from a sneeze, but after seeing the velocity and range of the droplets exploding from that man's nose, I have serious doubts.

I am a little disgusted by Yamir's bewildered response to the Myla Vox situation. He reacted like he had no idea this was coming. I can only conclude either he is embarrassingly naive and unsophisticated when it comes to business, or we are missing a huge chunk of this story. Probably both. Putting aside the reason for Yamir's departure, it doesn't make sense that he would leave without everyone involved having a business meeting to decide exactly what they were going to do going forward. It doesn't make sense that Yamir would just take off and assume everyone else would put their plans on hold and sit on their hands while he sorts out his situation in America. Yamir is a grown man. You cannot convince me that he did not understand that that this was going to cost everyone a lot of income and missed opportunities. He knew good and well that when you put out an album, you have to do tons of appearances and promotions to get people to go out and buy the music. (Particularly if you are a boy band and much of your success depends upon your accessibility to fans.) Yamir knew he was not going to be around for any of that. He could've delayed his departure some weeks or even a month to fulfil those kinds of obligations, but he chose not to. Chelsea's whining about nobody even trying to work it out was ridiculous. It didn't look to me like Yamir himself had put any effort into coming up with a workable plan, before or after he left. He just announced he was leaving, and left, figuring that somebody else would figure out how to make it work. I will entertain a slight possibility that Gabriel kept Yamir in the dark before he left, either avoiding the questions entirely, or putting Yamir off with assurances of "we'll figure it out." But I don't for a minute believe Gabriel didn't see the end coming. He knew what Yamir's departure would cost the group. He knew the group was already in a vulnerable position, having lost two members, and now here was a third. Judging from the quality of their music videos, I wonder if Gabriel has recouped whatever investment he made in the group, and Yamir - whether they kept him or replaced him - had just made everything a lot more complicated and a lot more expensive. I don't blame Gabriel at all for finishing off their remaining obligations, cutting his losses and terminating the whole thing. Perhaps the way he broke it to Yamir was a bit harsh, but I don't see any reason why Yamir should be coddled and protected from reality. The group broke up because Yamir left. It IS his fault. And while he had every right to leave, he is grown enough to understand that his decisions have consequences. I have no sympathy for him sitting around, bewildered and sad, as if he had no idea how this happened. AND her self-centeredness. Until last night, I felt a tiny bit of guilt for bagging on Danielle. She clearly isn't one of life's winners. But last night I finally saw the selfishness and manipulation. If she apologized for lying and misleading him, I missed it. All I heard was the constant repetition of her fear about being left. It's all about Danielle. Her issues. Her fears. Her feelings. Not a single thought for her husband-to-be. She didn't take any responsibility for her financial situation. Instead, she started shifting the burden onto him. Now HER problem is THEIR problem to fix. In 90 days or less. Mohamed, poor little con man. Now he has to figure out whether to cut his losses and go home. Even though Danielle is not very bright, and easy to fool, it still took a lot of time and energy to get her to the point of flying him over. If he goes home, he'll have to start over and find another sucker. Assuming he's not doing that already, while Danielle is at work. Maybe he's been working on his other options this whole time. I find it interesting that the topic of nudie magazines came up prior to Cassia's arrival, but the the fact that he lives in dullsville with a green pool did not. Yes, so now she will have two days to meet the father and find out if she can live with his particular brand of racism for the rest of her life.

I totally get you on this. I know Mohamed is a con artist and I should hate him for that. But I don't, and that's because I believe Danielle is a willing victim, and/or she's conning him in her own way. Basically, those two deserve each other. I feel much more anger toward Danny, because he is the most thoughtless, emotionally dense, empathy-lacking "in love" person I've ever seen. Aside from that one required counseling session, I have yet to see him inconvenience himself in any way to support his fiance's difficult transition to the US. And it's not because he's an arrogant ass. It's because it just doesn't occur to him to consider her. His life hasn't changed at all. And yet he feels incredibly burdened. I can't imagine why. He's not the one feeding, housing, and entertaining Amy. All of his emotional energy (what little there is of it) is devoted to himself, and all that's left for her a mild sort of affection. I suspect every time he leaves her, he pats himself on the back for fitting some quality time into his schedule. He's like that divorced parent who completely forgets about his children between mandated visits. Aside from that, he's just annoying clueless. It seems like every thought in his head was put there by someone else. Since nobody told him to prepare ahead of time for Amy's coming, to arrange some time off to spend with her, to consult her about her living situation and the wedding venue, he didn't do any of those things. It never occurred to him to do those things. And it STILL wouldn't occur to him. That's where my anger comes from. His fiance is standing in front of him, obviously emotional, homesick, overwhelmed, in need of his time and the comfort of his presence, and he doesn't pick up on it at all. It's like when he looks at her, he doesn't really see her. And she's too naive to understand that she deserves better than than this. Unfortunately, I'm sure as sure that these two will marry. And they will have a life together where everything suits Danny, and he's perfectly happy, thinking all he needs to do is provide financial support, religious leadership and the occasional pat on the head to the wife and kids. At some point, it will dawn on Amy that her relationship with her husband isn't what it should be or what she wanted, but she will use the distraction of children, home, and church to avoid thinking about how shallow her marriage is.

The editing on this show needs work. There are huge gaps in the "story" of this competition. How did they choose these women? Where did they find them? What does this competition involve? What are the tasks, Will there be challenges each week, with a winner and a loser? Will there be any mentoring? Will we be subjected to the shot of DVF's bare legs going up and down stairs every week? Will there be makeovers? Why would they choose so many women who are clearly not prepared for the role? In the last episode, these women had just met. Now they are apparently living in the same building, and several have gone through the insta-bonding that happens in these types of situations and are now BFFs. When did this happen? The situation with the mood boards was confusing. I don't recall hearing a deadline for completing the project. Was one given? Did DVF just decide she wanted to see them early? And why did she say the meeting was in an hour when clearly it longer than that, given that some of the girls actually had time to work on the boards. An hour is enough time to go home, get your board, get back to the office, and that's about it. And why - in the age of the internet - are these women so clueless? I cannot fathom why, when faced with this sort of challenge, they wouldn't just go home and google "mood board" and "Cote d'Azur" What was the point of (1) calling your boyfriend, (2) wandering a market for an entire day, or (3) asking random European guys on the street about the south of France. Why not just go home and make the damn mood board? I could not believe tattoo girl called her boyfriend. Seriously? If I heard about that, I would kick her out of the program immediately. Not just because she clearly has no problem solving skills, but because she had someone else do her work for her. She clearly is not prepared to take on a high profile position that requires independence, sophistication, and the ability to think on your feet. But of course, they will keep around, in the role of the young innocent. Kier is a caricature. She reminds me of a character in a certain movie, but I can't remember which one. I wish I could put my finger on it. Some tall blonde who was somebody's bitchy sister or bitchy fiance. Maybe the bitchy blonde who was dumped by the hero so he could get with Bridget Jones or whoever. Its going to drive me crazy until I figure it out. Kier is also Stefanie (with an 'F') version 2.0. They are two peas in a bitchy little pod. That moment of "warmth" between Stefani and Abigail was ...just weird. Stefani isn't convincing is the Mrs. Garrett role, and she outhg not try. Abigail and Kier should both have been reprimanded, and both should've been in the bottom three for not having enough sense to keep their beef to themselves, at least while on set. I had heard of DVF before this show, but I didn't know much about her. What I'm learning about her through this show isn't entirely positive. It's not amusing or entertaining to watch her smooth, thinly veiled insults toward a bunch of girls who are clearly too unsophisticated to handle themselves, and too awed by her to defend themselves properly or respond in kind. It's such an unequal relationship, it's like watching a mean kid pull the wings off a fly. Watching DVF go back and forth between the "I love you girls" and the barbed comments about Lenore's style just makes her look like the queen of the mean girls. Which I guess makes her three peas in a pod with Kier and Stefani.

Diane looks at these girls like she's been there, done that, and can see right through them. I can't tell if she is incredibly insightful, or if she's just relying on all of her minion's observations. Diane seems like a relatively warm and genuine person, but then I question that when, after a single meeting with the girls, she professes to love them all. Then again, fashion people do tend to express themselves in superlatives, don't they.

I really enjoy this show, although I don't really "get" what so important about Fashion with a capital F, so some of this is lost on me. When the judges say things like it would be great to have a denim person in this group, but it has to be the right denim person, my head goes into the Scooby tilt. They're jeans. They're blue cotton. What makes these so much different and better than the ones I see at the mall? When the lady with the plastic purses shows her collection of...well...plastic purses, I wonder if this is one of those "emperor's new clothes" moments. Everyone talking about how fabulous her creations are, when they're...well...plastic purses. I also don't get what's so great about Anna Wintour. Just looking at her, with her bob and her little ladylike dresses, her personal style seems very one-note and doesn't scream "fashion" to me. Still,despite not getting it I like the creative process and seeing all that goes into design, and that's why I watch. I liked seeing the creativity that the designers put into their books, and I'm looking forward to seeing their studios and how they handle the maybelline challenge. Especially now that they've got hat lady, plastic purse lady, shoe guy, and a couple of jewelry people.It will be interesting to see what challenge they come up with that can be adapted to other things besides clothing. I don't know how hat lady or purse lady would've handled the uniqlo challenge last year. Also, I'm not a fan of Ryan Roche's blush pink thing. It can be soft and pretty, but then it gets real tired.

I'm interested to see just how badly Cassia will behave, and what extreme mental acrobatics Jason will go through to deny that she's as bad as she is, and convince himself that it's ok to marry her. Also want to see how long his father can suppress the urge to shut her down.

I think the Haitian one was the big haired girl who was tying everyone's turbans. anyway, like tvforever, I was hoping for more "inside the industry" than "bad girls club does fashion." color me bummed. Oh well, at least the new season of Fashion Fund is on now.