Irish Mermaid

I finally got around to finishing S2. I think it took me a week just to watch the Fishes ep, I kept having to take a break. I did not enjoy that one at all, it was extremely stressful. For one thing, I can’t stand it when characters just repeat the same thing over and over, and this episode in particular seemed to take the repetition to the edge of insanity. That plus the kitchen chaos, the mess, the timer(s), JLC being bonkers … it was a lot. (I realize it was intended to be a lot, but that didn’t make it any more enjoyable.) As others have said, the Forks ep was pretty impressive in that it made me actually kinda like Richie - he annoyed the everliving sh*t out of me up to that point. I was wishing we could just stay there in that nice quiet, calm place. Also, I must have missed something along the way — I totally thought Sugar was married to Neil (Fak). I couldn’t figure out WHY she had married him, but she would always call him pet names (even when it was in a super annoyed tone LOL) and I just really thought “huh, OK, well maybe he’s not such a doofus ALL of the time” … and then there was Pete the night of the Friends & Family service, totally confusing me!

Well, ugh. Leslie & Teresa were my 2 least favorites, so I wasn’t going to enjoy this no matter which way it went, but that was a spectacular letdown all the same. I had a visceral dislike of Teresa from the first episode and I finally figured out why around the hometown dates episode. She bears a strong physical resemblance (face — especially the mouth — and similar little tiny body) to the evil mother-in-law of one of my best friends. The woman I know has the same wide-eyed “innocence” as she passively-aggressively says insulting things that are couched *just* enough for plausible deniability … but if you know, you know. Leslie did look amazing during the “live” portion but her endless stream of recriminations did nothing to make me like her better. I hope she’s not going to be the Golden Bachelorette. She doesn’t come off very well-spoken or poised to me, I think she would be an unlikable lead. (Although as someone who is 54 and never married, I actually relate to the “never gets chosen” rant. And my sister loved her, so maybe I’m not a good barometer of what folks will want to watch.) I doubt I will be watching the naked ratings grab merger … I mean wedding.

Yes, she’s still on the radio and does voice overs for locally-produced TV and radio ads. I think she was also teaching at our local vocational HS (the broadcast program) but I heard she had to give that up to leave to be on the show.

This is going to sound unkind and I don’t mean it that way … but I felt like the revealing dress and the OTT emotion were to kind of serve as Faith’s “audition” to be the Golden Bachelorette (if there is one). The producers want drama and she showed she can bring it. (I’ve done community theater for 30 years and I can’t cry on cue that well!) I like Faith and really thought she might be F1, and if it’s not going to be Susan for bachelorette, Faith would be my 2nd choice.

That’s what I was starting to think! Something about her whole segment made me think they were positioning her to be the choice. I second this!

I thought it was *primarily* “Boomers” who watched! Only based on the fact that my mom (77) and aunt (79) are the only people I know who watch every season. I’m 54 and normally couldn’t be PAID to watch, but as I’ve mentioned previously, Faith is from my community, so I had to check it out. And not that I would ever go on this show, even though I’m not married and would like to find someone, but I couldn’t even if I wanted to! Too old for the “regular” version, too young for the Golden version. 😂

I went back and watched some key moments a second time. Theresa starts running to him and he just stands there and waits for her He throws up his arms excitedly when he sees Faith, but still lets her be the one to run toward him When he saw Leslie he immediately started hurrying toward her Theresa initiates the kissing I think Faith leaned in from horseback first for their kiss He can’t seem to keep his hands or lips off of Leslie Theresa says “I love you” and he responds “That makes me feel special” (and his tone was kind of like “awww, dang, I don’t know what to say” — not quite condescending, but definitely not a reciprocal emotion) Faith and he say “I love you“ in whispers, like it’s not really true His tone of voice sounded emotionally genuine when he said it to Leslie. Like he just HAD to tell her. Plus he called her “his person.” And even without any of that, the fact that he didn’t seem to have any problem giving Leslie a rose, but broke down over which of the other two to cut? Says to me that he wants Leslie and just wants to be done with this and not lead anyone on any further. Anticlimactic for me — Benton City is about 20 minutes from our larger community and *significantly* smaller (3500 vs 250K) and I never really have a reason to go there so I didn’t recognize any of the background like I’d hoped.

Well, I’m excited for next week, if only to see *my* hometown in the background of one of the hometown dates! I was lightly spoiled, there have been claims on social media that he’d been spotted here earlier this year; plus, my brother is friends with one of Faith’s friends and he let it slip that she told him Faith was in the final 3. I’ve heard nothing beyond that, I’m doing my best to stay spoiler-free for the next 2 weeks! it’s so funny to me how many people have said they can’t tell Faith & Leslie apart. I guess because I “know” her (as I’ve said, not personally, but she’s a well-known personality locally), they don’t look anything alike to me. I do think Faith is prettier, but maybe I’m biased for the local gal. if they do a Golden Bachelorette, I sooooooo want them to pick Susan, she is terrific. She seemed genuinely happy for Faith getting the 1-on-1 date and she comes across as so kind and caring. She looked fabulous at the amusement park, too — her top was cute and her makeup was really pretty.

I was watching it the next day and actually noped out of the recording for awhile because I was cringing so hard at this exact moment. Theresa is so DESPERATE and off putting. I am really concerned for her mental health when Gerry is freed from the producers’ mandates and does not give her a rose.

This is what I said to my mom. I think in his mind Joan will become “the one who got away” and none of the others will measure up, especially because he also seems close with his daughters. I call BS on them only showing about 2 seconds of Faith singing. She is really talented (although the tiny bit we heard sounded like the song itself might be awful), so I assume the fix was in. Joan had probably already decided to leave, so the producers wanted him to pick her so it would be more dramatic when she told him after they had just had a one-on-one date. I didn’t care for Theresa at all before this episode and I still don’t, but I did kind of enjoy Kathy previously and now I can’t wait for her to get sent packing. I don’t watch any of the other versions — is Jesse Palmer usually such a non-presence? I would love to know how much he gets paid to come in for 5 seconds and say “ Ladies, this is the final rose.” like they can’t see that for themselves. Although maybe this particular group can’t? 😂 (Not throwing shade, I’m only 6-7 years younger than the youngest contestants so I know how vision is becoming an issue.)

Did they say why Faith didn’t participate in the group date/photo shoot?

Yes, Faith was the singer. She’s from my community and sang for YEARS with a local band. Plus, she was a radio DJ for decades. Our community is decent-sized but not massive (300K population) and she was already something of a local celebrity before her participation in the show was announced. And it is BIG DEAL on social media. 😂 I do not watch the show usually and I don’t *know* her but we have met (we have about 50 mutuals on FB), so of course I had to tune in. It was surreal to see her rollerblading on national TV where I walk my dog.

Started catching up with new episodes the other day and in the one with Sophie’s new job and now the one with Jesse’s co-workers, I can’t tear my eyes away from Hillary Duff’s eyebrows. Have they always been that … powerful? I feel like I would have noticed in previous episodes. It’s like they get thicker and darker WHILE I’m watching.

I really enjoyed this series and hope it gets renewed! Ari Notartomaso emerged as the breakout talent for me - their singing voice is so pure, and they broke my heart more than once conveying Cynthia’s emotions … both when alone and showing vulnerability, and when putting on the “tough girl” act to cover it up. . Tricia Fukuhara was also a hoot as Nancy, and the actress playing Frenchie NAILED the voice. I do wish Susan had faced some direct consequences for slamming the car on Gil’s hand, just when she makes some progress and I start to feel for her, she turns awful again.

I’ve been binging and just finished season 2. The season finale was the one with a variety show to benefit children. I was so annoyed with everyone for how they treated David — the poor guy was guilted into giving up his pre-existing plans that he’d already paid for, and then when he did participate, holier-than-thou Joanie was still treating him like a pariah. Ugh. (I’m the eldest of 4 and frequently relate to David’s situation, LOL) I also had to laugh when they were coming up with their acts and Abby said “Well, I guess I can sing a little.” . I don’t actually recommend binging, and am going to slow down for now. The Tom character is always so cranky — he comes off pretty awful when you see him blowing his top every episode back-to-back. It’s a credit to Dick Van Patten’s likability that he made this character beloved instead of despised. . I’ve also been going down the rabbit trails reading about everyone since then. I’m the exact same age Adam Rich was - such a sad loss earlier this year. Also sad about Lani O’Grady … she was very talented and had a wonderful speaking voice. Grant Goodeve is almost 71 and has aged *very* well, still extremely handsome.