S01.E04: Parents' Weekend

[Guest]

Airs November 17, 2019

Quote

Eve and her colleague Amanda attend a wake; Brendan reconnects with Ted at Parents' Weekend; Margo and Curtis go on a first date.

[scrb]

The fantasy porn sequence was funny, with the kid on one side and the old man on the other side.

They draw out how much of a POS Brendan is with that sex doll and promising to bang his roommate's mother.

Obviously resents the attention his half brother gets, so he steals and dumps Stripey, the kid's favorite piece of clothing.

Eve makes a pass at her friend and looks like she's going to meet a more age appropriate guy.  But the kid may not be completely out of the picture yet.

The plot between the trans writing group teacher and the black guy could be interesting but you get the senses that it's padding, so that they might have enough material for however many episodes they're doing.

Unless that relationship is suppose to shed light on whatever hookups Eve ends up having.

[Empress1]

22 minutes ago, scrb said:

Obviously resents the attention his half brother gets, so he steals and dumps Stripey, the kid's favorite piece of clothing.

I actually felt bad for Brendan. When his roommate was cleaning I was like, "ugh, Brendan, clean up your shit, you're a pig" but as soon as the father, stepmother, and half-brother showed up I felt bad for him. It seems like he hasn't spent much time with his dad since the divorce and certainly since the half-brother was born. We know his father has put off doing stuff with Brendan in favor of the brother. The brother looked to be elementary-school-aged, which means this has been going on for some time (and Brendan is only 18, so he missed out on time with his dad during some important years). Brendan thought he was going to have a weekend just with his dad, which he was obviously looking forward to, and then his stepmother* and half-brother show up and he knows right away that all the energy is going to go to the brother. Which is no one's fault - the brother has special needs that must be attended to; it is what it is - but it was shitty of the father not to tell Brendan about it beforehand.

It's also not helpful to tell someone that they don't need you. Brendan clearly DOES need his dad and was saying so, in his way. It was kind of staggering to me that Dad could say all that while sitting across from Brendan, who was obviously trying not to cry. "I don't have to worry about you" can translate to "I don't care as much about you" if the recipient is feeling vulnerable, which Brendan was.

Brendan taking Stripey was immature, but Brendan is immature.

*Is the stepmother the woman his father cheated on Eve with? Eve said the father had cheated in the last voicemail message.

[scrb]

It is odd that Brendan is thirsty for Ted's attention as much as Eve is thirsty for Brendan's attention.

Eve seems like the better person than Ted.

[Joimiaroxeu]

Those women in those video intros were actually actresses, right? They were pretending to be "regular" women who just happened into porn, right? Is that a thing in porn? It sure seemed to suck Eve in.

Brendan's dad is a straight a-hole. He literally did the least for that parents' weekend. Well, other than just not showing up at all but he had to try to upstage Eve.

"You don't need me to love you so much because I know you'll be able to get by without it." Ugh, almost makes you want to feel sorry for Brendan. Almost.

So did Brendan's stepmother insist on coming along on the parents weekend because she didn't trust Ted around all those young college girls? If she's the one who broke up his marriage to Eve (or at least helped) then I can understand her not trusting him. The way you get 'em is the way you lose 'em.

[Empress1]

3 minutes ago, scrb said:

It is odd that Brendan is thirsty for Ted's attention as much as Eve is thirsty for Brendan's attention.

Eve seems like the better person than Ted.

Sure, and she's been the one who did the lion's share of the work raising Brendan. That's why she was so frustrated when Brendan ditched her for parents' weekend - she put in the work, Ted (thanks for the name) didn't, and now Ted gets to reap the benefit of seeing his son in college. But my guess is that Brendan takes her for granted since she was there all the time. He doesn't know/isn't mature enough to understand how hard it probably was for her to raise him largely on her own WHILE dealing with the emotional fallout of Ted's infidelity and their divorce. All Brendan sees is that his dad was around and then he wasn't, and he misses him. Ted is unavailable to Brendan; Brendan is now unavailable to Eve. It's wanting what you can't have. That's why it's so good that Eve is getting a life.

2 minutes ago, Joimiaroxeu said:

So did Brendan's stepmother insist on coming along on the parents weekend because she didn't trust Ted around all those young college girls? If she's the one who broke up his marriage to Eve (or at least helped) then I can understand her not trusting him. The way you get 'em is the way you lose 'em.

I wondered if she was the mistress too. She and Brendan seemed OK with each other. Maybe he was too young when they split up to know better. I have a friend whose father is married to the woman he cheated on her mother with. She's OK with her now, but we're grown, she has her own family, and her mother is remarried. It took a lot of time (and I don't think her parents talk at all - they stayed away from each other at her wedding).

(I can't imagine those college girls being interested in Ted. He's a pretty basic 40something guy.)

[Joimiaroxeu]

Quote

(I can't imagine those college girls being interested in Ted. He's a pretty basic 40something guy.)

Sugar babies aren't known for being picky. Ted might not have the disposable funds to make that work though.

Edited November 18, 2019 by Joimiaroxeu

[tennisgurl]

Brandon might be an immature ass of a kid, but seeing his dad really puts a lot of his behavior in context, and I did end up feeling sorry for him. He was so excited to spend time with his dad (who apparently doesent see much of him) and then his dad sprung bringing his brother and step mom along, which pretty much derailed the whole weekend and kept them from really doing anything. Tossing the sock away was immature and petty, but Brandon is pretty immature and petty, and his dad clearly hurt him a lot. The whole bit where Brandon asked why his dad didnt care about him as much as his brother and Ted was just like "you dont need me, your good at sports!" while Brandon looked like he about about to cry (and did actually seem to be looking for a real emotional connection there) and Ted just blew the whole thing off. Ted also seems like kind of a grown up version of Brandon, sketchily talking about how hot the college girls are and saying how Brandon must be "cleaning up" with the girls, making jokes about the feminist art show, while Ted seems to have slightly matured due to having a special needs kid, it seems like Brandon might to imitating his dad to try and get his attention. Having a special needs child is often hard and that kids will certainly take more time and attention from parents, thats understandable and no ones fault, but Ted seems to be doing the bare minimum with Brandon, although he so clearly needs parenting. Eve is obviously a much better parent (even with her flaws) but he just takes her for granted as she has always been around. 

Eve is totally going to try and initiate a three way with someone isnt she? She was certainly into that...porn? Weird cam girl interviews? 

[scrb]

There's a genre of porn where the porn actress is applying for a modeling job and then ends up having sex with the interviewer.

Another is auditioning, with supposedly young women just liking sex and really interested in being filmed having sex.

Actually one particular site got into legal trouble recently because they lured girls, some of them underage, and kind of bullied them into doing it, even when they learned they were lured under false premises.

Then they were promised things like the video would only be available in certain foreign countries.

That site does the exact type of interviews shown in this episode, with the women on the bed.  But they're all suppose to be college age -- late teens, early 20s.

So that is a spoof of that actual genre, where they have an interview in a hotel room for a few minutes and then they get right into the action.

[Dminches]

On 11/18/2019 at 3:23 PM, scrb said:

The fantasy porn sequence was funny, with the kid on one side and the old man on the other side.

They draw out how much of a POS Brendan is with that sex doll and promising to bang his roommate's mother.

Obviously resents the attention his half brother gets, so he steals and dumps Stripey, the kid's favorite piece of clothing.

Eve makes a pass at her friend and looks like she's going to meet a more age appropriate guy.  But the kid may not be completely out of the picture yet.

The plot between the trans writing group teacher and the black guy could be interesting but you get the senses that it's padding, so that they might have enough material for however many episodes they're doing.

Unless that relationship is suppose to shed light on whatever hookups Eve ends up having.

He doesn’t really resent his half brother.  He resents the fact that his father is a moron and doesn’t give him the attention he deserves.  The dad drags his wife and the kid along to parents weekend for no reason.  This was a great opportunity for the dad to show Brendan some well-deserved attention.  Not surprising, the dad blew it.  

This episode made me dislike Brendan a lot less.  He has had to deal with an ass hole father which is complicated for any kid.  This is no way that an 18 year-old can figure out how this is about the dad and not him.  His other behavior is likely a reflection of this.

[AnimeMania]

I don't think that Brandon stole "Stripey", I think they really lost it. It was a dick move to throw  "Stripey" away. A bigger dick move would have been to call them and have them turn around and  drive all the way back to campus to get it. Maybe Brandon would have gotten an even longer hug from his "hot" Stepmom. The only time Brandon seemed to be enjoying his time with his father was when they where throwing the football around at the art exhibit.

I was kind of hoping that Autistic group girl would meet Brandon's Step-brother thus allowing them to get that much closer to hooking up. She might mention that Brandon had joined a group for people with Autistic family members, which might earn Brandon another hug from his "hot" Stepmom. 

The problem with this show is the cinematography is boring, filmed like they are filming a documentary. How can you film a woman masturbating to a fantasy of having a threesome, the exact same way you film an autistic kid eating peas in a cafeteria. The kiss with the co-worker, I guessed it was going to happen, but there was no build up to it or any indications about what was causing Eve's feelings from the way the scene was filmed. 

My favorite scene so far has been when Julian was staring at Eve's feet when he went under the table. It was probably the most real portrayal of a sexual attraction currently depicted. The way everything else has been filmed has seemed "cookie cutter" and "by the book".

The current film style cannot portray blood pumping, heart pounding, or eyes rolling back into your head female orgasms. It is just too generic.

[mytmo]

Brendan was used to having everyone revolve around him and is continually making mom pay for Dad not being around.  He is only realizing now that he is not the center of the Universe.  Why on earth would you bring a kid especially one that deep on the spectrum to an unknown, active and noisy venue?  So stupid!  Surprised step mom did not complain to the college about the singing.  Parents weekend at college are a joke anyway.  Adults only want to converge so that they feel young again and want to see if they can garner attention from the young co-eds.   When my niece was at Ohio U her mom and mom's siblings, cousins, etc. were most interested in what was happening at the college bars.  Eve needs to invest in some toys.

Edited November 22, 2019 by mytmo

[HaaCHOO]

"While we thrill at watching Eve open up to the world, it's going to be equally challenging to find the empathy to follow Brendan on his mirror journey."

I don't "thrill" at much Eve's putting me through--and until the most recent episode definitely did not have any empathy for Brendan.  I DO NOW!   I can see every despicable action of the kid's for the past ten years as cries for help.  At least wanting to be noticed...maybe even loved.

His father neglected everyone while finding a younger mate...perhaps getting her pregnant and having to dump his original family...and everyone suffers.

P.S.  We've had enough of Kathryn Hahn with her "hahns" down her pants.  Give her more to do "down there."

[HaaCHOO]

22 hours ago, mytmo said:

Why on earth would you bring a kid especially one that deep on the spectrum to an unknown, active and noisy venue? 

Because you're the selfish little "hottie," who (most likely) broke up a family and you're not happy that SOMEONE now needs/takes all your money, time, energy, and attention--and your paramour's?  Daddy will NOT visit Number One Son alone. You're not first anymore? Boo and Hoo!

[HaaCHOO]

On 11/18/2019 at 2:00 PM, Empress1 said:

The brother looked to be elementary-school-aged, which means this has been going on for some time (and Brendan is only 18, so he missed out on time with his dad during some important years).

I like to believe that Brendan was the same age as the step-brother when his dad "moved on," so it was heartbreaking to look at that little brother's face and think of cute, sweet little (yet unscathed) Brendan.

It was sad to see Brendan toss away Stripey (that he found...did not "take").  I wish the writers had the same idea as a poster...to call and say he found it.  You KNOW the parents would have to turn around and pick it up.

Edited November 23, 2019 by HaaCHOO

[ZuluQueenOfDwarves]

Yikes, people really don’t like Brendan’s stepmom. Her only onscreen appearance has her seeming pretty nice, and unless I missed something, they haven’t said that she broke up Eve and DoucheDad’s marriage. Even if she did, that’s more on him than her. 
 

As for why she brought her son to the college visit, maybe she wanted him to see his older brother. Maybe she wanted to expand his horizons and help him learn to be comfortable in new surroundings. Maybe she wanted to bond with Brendan a little. 
 

I work in autistic support, and I take my students everywhere. Stores, farms, museums, parks, etc. It’s part of helping them to cope with new places so that they can have different experiences. Just because they need more support doesn’t mean they don’t belong in certain spaces. 

[scrb]

I agree, we don't know the back story about Ted and the new wife.

And this is a mini series so we may never see her again.

Eve doesn't seem especially salty about her.  In fact has she referred to her at all?

She's salty about Ted but not hasn't badmouthed his wife.

[HaaCHOO]

On 11/23/2019 at 10:39 AM, ZuluQueenOfDwarves said:

Even if she did, that’s more on him than her. 

It IS more on him...but she can't be some innocent flower (in the way I've decided to write the show).   I've been there!  I asked the supposed hottie if she couldn't wait until my kids finished high school (they were 9 and 11).  She said, "Shouldn't you be talking to him?"  I said, "Do you think I haven't?  Do you think I didn't do EVERYTHING before having to speak to YOU?"  (I had known her for two years; she was his secretary. She came to parties at our house; she greeted me sweetly when I picked him up for lunch...while she was _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ him).

[jeansheridan]

On 11/21/2019 at 2:02 AM, AnimeMania said:

How can you film a woman masturbating to a fantasy of having a threesome, the exact same way you film an autistic kid eating peas in a cafeteria.

Actually yes, women masturbating alone is that boring to watch. It's all very internal and in your head. It's not a performance.