FozzyBear

So the cynical part of me thinks Paige feeling “suddenly closer” to Lindsay after the pregnancy announcement was her feeling the need to be “suddenly closer” to the main story line this season.

I listened to the podcast when it came out and just finished this and the Netflix documentary about Belle Gibson. I’ve been thinking about the similarities between the two in how the got away with these scams. First Both were really hooked into communities and cultures that don’t exactly encourage fact checking. Both mega churches and Wellness communities are predisposed to believe in miracles that defy scientific explanation. It’s actually sort of the point of both communities. So when both Amanda and Belle were walking around looking more like they’d been to a four star spa then chemo it could just be written off as a miracle. Either Jesus or raw food “saved” them. I grew up in a mega church and can see how people would just buy Amanda’s story. You’re supposed to believe in everyday miracles so why not. I have less experience with wellness communities but I’ve always noticed they use really similar language to encourage a belief in what I would describe as miracles. So they were both speaking to people who were ready to believe. I also think timing helped both out. 2015ish-2020ish was sort of prime “my truth” time. I remember it being really socially unacceptable to question someone’s life experience. To say out loud you thought either person was lying probably meant risking becoming an outcast. And finally I think both were attractive young middle class white women. We are so primed to believe the sick white woman narrative. I say this as a middle class white woman. It’s so common for me to meet other women from my background who are always sort of vaguely sick. In the end I think Belle is mentally ill but I think Amanda and Corey are scam artists. I think they had money troubles and probably one legitimate medical bill for some sort of test (that came back negative) and saw they could get a lot of free money and stuff this way. I always thought the custody stuff was about money too. I think they just needed the child support. I think they wanted a particular lifestyle in an expensive area, got in over their heads with debt, and one thing led to another. Heck I think it’s possible Cory remembered how much support you could get from his step daughter’s illness and started the idea. Either way, I think they were both lazy, greedy grifters who found each other.

I’ve always thought it was a possibility that Shannon agreed to being attacked this season as a way to come across as the victim…again. Totally a conspiracy theory and I’m probably wrong but still

I never even understood why he was acting like the injured party. He and Rachel had broken up and he had moved on to Ally at the point. Because Sandoval had an affair with his ex? Didn’t he meet Sandoval because he was dating Sandoval’s ex (Kristin)? I think what Sandoval and Rachel did was terrible but the level of outrage from the cast was so over the top. Every person in the cast including Arianna had cheated or been involved with someone while they were cheating. The only exception might be Katie. For James to use it as an excuse to just go full ham on his ex girlfriend was gross.

I always believed Rachel that James was abusive and honestly viewed a lot of her behavior during Scandoval through that lens. She struck me as a people pleaser without a particularly strong will who left an abusive relationship and sunk right into another relationship built on manipulation, poor boundaries, and some romantic idea about being the only person who really loved this troubled man, just like with James. I wish she’d gotten therapy instead but I was surprised that no one believed her and continued to back up James and his righteous anger bullshit. James sucks. He’s sucked every season and I have no idea why people find him charming.

I’m guessing it was Allie and James was drunk and he will recommit to his sobriety and Allie will stand by him and no one will learn any lessons at all. 🙄

I admit I haven’t watched the reunion because I can’t stomach it yet, but I’m finding this whole thing weird. I think John and Alexis are terrible and scum but I think the same of Shannon so take that for what it’s worth. It’s just…he broke up with her and she came to his house uninvited and drunk got into a fight maybe hit him definitely drive drunk and hit a house and Shannon ends up being the victim? How does this become a “he made her do it” situation about anything that happened that night?

I think this is my least favorite episode. After a big improvement from last season this seemed to fall back into the trap of being sort of ridiculous and sort of boring. Lots of interesting threads were introduced and then dropped without making anything of them. Why was the girls accommodation denied ? What exactly was the school so nervous about? Students maybe exaggerating learning disabilities to get test time is hardly a new idea or very earth shattering. I doubt it would impact the school. And finally, people make false confessions all the time. The police know this. The job (theoretically) isn’t to put somebody in jail it’s to arrest the right person. One more thing. That was the oldest looking 18 year old ever. The actresses playing mother and daughter looked maybe 10 years apart in age.

Oh my god I have been like Jim Garrison with Shannon’s phone. “Back and to the left. Was it a magic phone?” That photo is my personal Zapruder Film. Someone please explain where the phone was and how Shannon got it back!!!!

Good clarification. When I said Tamara decided to use Tough Love I meant more in a buzz wordy sense. I think she decided that at this point to just start yelling because she was frustrated and she knows that’s a thing you can get away with if you’re yelling at a person with substance abuse problems. I do not think she sat down and had a look into herself to find the best way to love Shannon.

Earlier I posted about how in the Shannon-John-Alexis debacle I actually think they are all sort of right but they are all absolutely assholes. I feel the same way about Tamara-Shannon and Tamara-Jenn. I think Ryan is a scummy dude who has probably said some really foul things to Tamara and has been shady all over town but Jenn was too dickamatized to care. I think Tamara was at one point worried and frustrated with her friend but it became about proving herself “right” and Tamara just went off the rails attacking Ryan and Jenn’s relationship. I think in the days after the DUI Shannon tried to blame John for what went down that night (He knew I was in a bad place and made me leave! I would have been fine driving if he hadn’t yelled at me! I was so upset I crashed into a house!) and Tamara started calling bullshit. I also think Shannon was drinking during her program and calling people from rehab to drunkenly tell them she’s not an alcoholic. I think Tamara lost her patience and decided to go “tough love” on Shannon. But again it became about being “right” and she went off the rails trying to prove Shannon was in the wrong. In both cases, I don’t think Tamara is wrong about what she’s saying but she’s so cruel in her delivery that it stops mattering.

It cracked me up how everyone was so quick to believe Ryan was 💯 guilty. I think they all like Jenn and tried to like Ryan for her sake but man…once the story broke they were all like “yup. Guilty as sin. Total dirt bag.” I had a solid 3 or 4 episodes of not hating Shannon. That’s a good run for me, but we’re back baby! Good god she is the worst kind of emotional vampire. Every time she’s either a) not getting enough attention or b) being held accountable for her own actions the tears and the hysterical flailing start. She’s not done with anything. That woman loves drama more than Shakespeare. I can’t stand Alexis or Johnny J either. This is one of those arguments where I think everyone is actually right and everyone is a terrible person. I think John is a user. I think Shannon has been getting drunk and accusing him of all manner of shit for years. I think Alexis loves rubbing her relationship in Shannon’s face. I think the $75 was a loan and Shannon knew it. I think John was a fool to loan her money. They are all messy assholes.

I HATED the ring! I agree that real or fake the design was cheap looking. It didn’t look expensive to me, it looked like something you’d get at a low end jewelry store.

Wow. Horrible episode mostly all around. The Bad: Tamara. You are vile. Maybe the worst person on Bravo and that is a very high bar. Heather. I get what you’re saying about the information not really being private but you should have kept your mouth shut. And learn to apologize. Shannon. Shut the fuck up. If you don’t like people feeling like you’re using them to spin a narrative on TV STOP DOING IT. You told Heather in camera on purpose. And then you went on a podcast and then you talked about it everywhere! You are not the victim you think you are. Also you absolutely did Gina dirty. And you were never bothered by Tamara’s behavior before she turned on you so shut up. Katie. I’m sorry having your adult daughter spread gossip she got from babysitting 8 year olds? That is fucking weird. The good-ish Jenn. You seem sweet but lord…you are making some very bad decisions and it’s not going to be Tamara’s fault when this blows up for you. Emily. You were good. You stayed out of it mostly and backed up Gina. The Good: Gina. 👏👏👏Stellar episode for you. You saw through all the bullshit. You did not fall for either Heather, Tamara, or Shannon’s games. And you looked cute as hell doing it.

Oh I’m not sympathetic. I’m with you. Shannon creates her own misery through bad decisions and then starts in on her “woe is me” routine. If it was because she couldn’t afford insurance (which I doubt) then why is she taking John on expensive trips instead of buying even a basic health plan? If it’s for other reasons why isn’t she addressing those reasons? And can you imagine if Shannon had gotten the news Heather did? Lord help us. The crying would never end. I’ve never liked John (always thought there was something off about him) and Alexis is being terrible. But I can’t say I’m exactly sympathetic to Shannon. I find her to be just a manipulative with her constant helpless Shannon routine. How many years are people expected to feel sorry for Shannon before she just starts making better decisions?