S08.E14: Into Your Arms

[Grifter Lives]

2 hours ago, magemaud said:

I haven’t heard one word from Natalie about going to church since she got to the US, let alone her wanting a church wedding 

Natalie is in a predicament similar to Zied's.  She cannot have an Orthodox wedding during Lent, Easter or Bright Week.  She arrived in mid-January, so most of her visa period was within those time periods.  Moreover, Natalie would not have been able to marry Mike in an Orthodox church, since he is an atheist who believes in aliens.  Natalie herself would not be able to remarry in the Orthodox Church if she did not get an ecclesiastical divorce in addition to a civil divorce.  Despite her IQ of 110, she did not strategize effectively.  She should have prioritized the civil ceremony first and foremost.  (And it would have destroyed Mike's powerplay of withholding the ring.)

In earlier episodes, when she first arrived in Sequim, there was an icon on top of Mike's refrigerator.  But, in the last few episodes, that icon has been replaced by a cage.  

[OoogleEyes]

Does anyone here watch The Con on ABC? This week's episode was about psychics, which made me think of our sex tourist Stephanie. 

People are gullible; these "psychics" are horrendous for preying on vulnerable people when they're at their lowest. 

I forsee a special place in hell for these vultures, and I'm not even a psychic!

[sainte-chapelle]

34 minutes ago, OoogleEyes said:

Does anyone here watch The Con on ABC? This week's episode was about psychics, which made me think of our sex tourist Stephanie. 

People are gullible; these "psychics" are horrendous for preying on vulnerable people when they're at their lowest. 

I forsee a special place in hell for these vultures, and I'm not even a psychic!

I remember a fairly famous ‘medium’ doing a TV special featuring the families of 9/11 victims....it was appalling.

[Mrs. Hanson]

19 minutes ago, sainte-chapelle said:

I remember a fairly famous ‘medium’ doing a TV special featuring the families of 9/11 victims....it was appalling.

EEEWWWWW!  Was it David Von Prague?

[Bubbles1967]

On 3/15/2021 at 8:04 AM, steff13 said:

If I were Zied, I would be pretty annoyed that Rebecca lost her engagement ring.  Also, she looks insane with those pigtails. 

Bet if he had paid for it, he would be.

[sainte-chapelle]

8 hours ago, Mrs. Hanson said:

EEEWWWWW!  Was it David Von Prague?

It was this asshole. https://www.oversixty.com.au/health/mind/despair-and-devastation-john-edwards-gut-feeling-about-911-week-before-it-happened

[AZChristian]

2 hours ago, sainte-chapelle said:

It was this asshole. https://www.oversixty.com.au/health/mind/despair-and-devastation-john-edwards-gut-feeling-about-911-week-before-it-happened

Taking my comment to Small Talk.

[mamadrama]

My new theory is that the Natalie scenes are being aired out of order. 

[Xebug67]

On 3/17/2021 at 3:56 PM, magemaud said:

Nope, not just you. It sounds to me like she’s holding her nose when she talks and it’s almost like someone badly imitating a French accent. 

That's exactly what she sounds like to me as well, and why her shrill voice grates on my nerves.  She sounds like a French impersonator.

 

Funnily, after having read a bunch of posts online about Andrew and his mother, along the lines of Amira being the phony and manipulator in the relationship, that supports what I thought about her all along.  Andrew may be horrible in his own right (I thought he was in the manner of how he DIDN'T handle the Mexico situation well or empathetically at all), but I've always had the impression ever since Amira's first appearance on the show that she's no naive angel.  All she ever talks about is how Andrew pressures her, and honestly I have not seen any pressuring on his part in the bits and pieces we've been shown about them.  The only thing I will say is that his persona did visibly change in my eyes when she told him that she WOULD do the Serbia thing.  He did seem to brighten up and appear much happier than he had earlier in that same conversation with her.  But that to me is still not "pressuring".  She's a grown ass woman.  Nobody pressures a grown ass woman who's willing to leave everything behind to pursue a make-up counter dream of "Coming to America".  I believe 100% that Andrew's a tool for her to use, abuse and then discard once she's over here attempting to glam it up and become some type of "influencer" (God, I hate that word) minus Andrew being in her life.  This is NOT by any means even remotely a woman who'd going to be content being married to "Mr. Day Care".

 

With regards to feeling sorry for Natalie and Mike being a piece of S-H-I-T-E, I have ZERO sympathy for Natalie.  She deserves everything that S-H-I-T-T-Y dishes out to her, regardless of the fact that she left her country, because she's a full-grown adult and should be responsible for her life choices, be they good or bad.  There's no sympathy for her as far as I'm concerned, in light of her superiority complex and condescending calling out of Mike to be "low IQ" and "low class" and all the other terrible things I'm sure she says to him that we don't get to see.  Not to mention her hatred of his house, lifestyle choices, and religion.

 

Edited March 19, 2021 by Xebug67
erroneously typed "had" vs. "hate" for the word "influencer"

[MyVelouria]

On 3/15/2021 at 11:02 AM, Colfrmb said:

I am remembering a little of the mess from last night.  Did anybody get a chuckle watching Mike and Natalie at the dinner table wit that serving plate of cooked disks and first they each get one and then the number of disks on the serving plate changed with every cut?  Over and over.  Hilarious.     

They looked so unappetizing. If you deep-fried your fist, I imagine it would look exactly like whatever the heck those things were.

[Scout Finch]

On 3/15/2021 at 11:31 AM, seacliffsal said:

Stephanie is pretty rude.  She blocked Ryan's mom from her own phone, so when Ryan did not contact his mother for two days, the mom tried to contact Stephanie through the work phone (as she had been blocked from Stephanie's personal phone).  So, Stephanie gets all angry because she is now with Harris and instructs her assistant to block the mom from the work phone.  How about maybe Ryan's mom is worried and knew that he was planning on being with Stephanie, so when not able to contact Ryan on his own phone, his mom does her best to try to get in contact with Stephanie to see if anything has happened to Ryan.  She could have had her assistant just tell the mom that Ryan left the resort and Stephanie does not know where he is.  Totally selfish and uncaring.

 Yet, Stephanie thought nothing about repeatedly calling Ryan's mom several times over a few months because he wouldn't answer his phone. Reminds me of the summer I called a guy I liked nearly every day (who was probably mouthing "Tell her I'm not here!") and during one of the many "He's not here right now/can't come to the phone" calls his long-suffering mom had to answer, I begged her to tell me if she knew if he truly did like me (she didn't know). The difference? I was 16.

[RealReality]

On 3/15/2021 at 1:47 AM, TrininisaScorp said:

Man, these people.

Mike/Natalie - Their little fakey fakey "look at how much fun we are" told me the other shoe was going to drop.  No doubt.  I will say, it was becoming clear that Mike actively disliked her and she seems to hold a larger than normal cup of crazy.  That said, I was sad for her.  Why string her along?  Why make her think it is happening?  Man, just send her ass back to Ukraine.  What is Mike's fucking deal?  . 

Stephanie/Interchangeable Belize Man (to her....b/c ppl shouldn't be interchangeable) - I'm Caribbean (Trinidadian), so my first reaction to Harris was "oh my god, she went with the coconut man?!"  No diss or anything but he's a bit lower on the social ladder and so is probably going to say and do almost anything to get with this crazy, rich American bat.  Y'all remember that controversial skit on SNL with Adele about horny white divorcees going to Africa to get laid by younger men?  That's this.  Honestly, Stephanie seems both terrible and slightly off her gourd.  It's just gross that everything is about her throwing her money around.  She doesn't respect these men, but is interested in having a younger, exotic man.  Harris describing taking care of the house and being her guard and stuff was really cringe worthy on an incredibly cringe worthy show.  P.S. That psychic is probably working on summer home #2 thanks to Stephanie's crazy.

J

This line tells me everything about your authenticity, because YES to all that.  

Coconut guy is limber and its amazing to watch him get you those coconuts.  But no one is trying to do the freak nasty with the coconut guy!

I will say that Harris is probably the Idris Elba of the coconut guys, with the ones I've seen there is often some important missing teeth.  

Harris may be a touch scammy (and I expect he is still involved with his ex), I did feel something in my heart when he said "Its hard in Belize"  because I know that simple statement to be the truth.  Even if he got here and just drove Uber or DoorDash, he would make way more than he would in Belize.  And he gets to live in a free house with crazy McNutcakes Stephanie.  

And while this is the long game, Stephanie has no children.  I'm sure Maria has already conned her way into Stephanie's will, but if Harris makes the right moves he has a chance at her money too. 

As for Mike and Natalie....I guess it could be anything, but I think he has already had a taste of reality TV and so he knows that every story needs a villain.  And I think he doesn't want to be the bad guy.  I think he initially was kinda open to the idea of maybe getting back together, but of course, she was crazy and he went from "well, probably not, but maybe" to "oh hell no!"

I think he probably knew after the "low IQ" fight and I think he for sure knew at the knick knack shop they went to.  But by that time it was already pretty late in the process and if he broke it off with her, he'd look like a dick.  

I have noticed that Mike can make snide or dismissive comments and calls them "funny"I don't know if he was hoping to push Natalie into a fight where she impulsively broke up with him and then Mike wouldn't be the bad guy who sent Natalie home at the last minute and in the middle of a pandemic.  

I do not at all fault him for not wanting to marry Natalie, but you are right, he knew WAAAAAAAAAY before like two days until the wedding that he had no intention of marrying her.  Send her home to her mother and to update her bikini shots.  

Edited March 20, 2021 by RealReality

[ethalfrida]

Bwah hahahahahaha... “nutcakes Stephanie”...

[Ucross]

These morons are so stupid they actually think they live in England, not America! LMFAO!

[My Girls]

I honestly don't feel that Ry-errr-Harris is any worse than a lot of men here.  There's plenty of gold diggers.  They either want a nurse or your purse by a certain age.  I wonder if Stephanie figured she'd at least get a nice young stud out of the deal.  Not so sure Ryan qualified, but whatever.

[Grifter Lives]

A few observations from my rewatch:

When Ryan's mother goes searching for him, Stephanie tells her assistant to block everyone in the family, "mother, brothers, sisters, cousins,"  which, of course, includes Harris, who watches and listens without reaction.  (In the flashback, Ryan refers to Stephanie as his mother's daughter-in-law.)  At brunch hours later, she then asks Harris, "You're a blood relative [to Ryan].  How do we broach that subject with Ryan?"  Harris says that Ryan blew his chance, but will always be family.  They both have mutually disowned each other.  True to the Big Ed Sex Tourist School of Seduction, Stephanie declares that Harris treats her like "a queen," and that he's not derogatory like Ryan (with no irony).

Natalie tells her mother that she can't come to the wedding, as if all the parents were otherwise going to attend a gala before the lockdown.  The wedding was never planned.  By the time she speaks to her mother, the wedding is the bare minimum.  Nothing - except the full Uncle Beau experience - would be lost on a video conference call.  Natalie cries to her mother and says, "Its so hard for me in these woods.  I feel bad here."   She should believe the trees and (Magic Big) Mike's BBQ décor that reads, "Notice: Price subject to change according to customer's attitude."

Zied plans to return to the franchise - or at least a trip home - when he suggests a big wedding in Tunisia.  

Edited March 20, 2021 by Grifter Lives
Sign Language

[nytonc]

On 3/16/2021 at 9:56 AM, Pepper Mostly said:

Rebecca's daughter is totally dead behind the eyes. 

If Rebecca was my mom I’d be dead behind the eyes too but I think it’s genetics or lack of a brain. 

On 3/19/2021 at 10:49 AM, Xebug67 said:

That's exactly what she sounds like to me as well, and why her shrill voice grates on my nerves.  She sounds like a French impersonator.

 

Funnily, after having read a bunch of posts online about Andrew and his mother, along the lines of Amira being the phony and manipulator in the relationship, that supports what I thought about her all along.  Andrew may be horrible in his own right (I thought he was in the manner of how he DIDN'T handle the Mexico situation well or empathetically at all), but I've always had the impression ever since Amira's first appearance on the show that she's no naive angel.  All she ever talks about is how Andrew pressures her, and honestly I have not seen any pressuring on his part in the bits and pieces we've been shown about them.  The only thing I will say is that his persona did visibly change in my eyes when she told him that she WOULD do the Serbia thing.  He did seem to brighten up and appear much happier than he had earlier in that same conversation with her.  But that to me is still not "pressuring".  She's a grown ass woman.  Nobody pressures a grown ass woman who's willing to leave everything behind to pursue a make-up counter dream of "Coming to America".  I believe 100% that Andrew's a tool for her to use, abuse and then discard once she's over here attempting to glam it up and become some type of "influencer" (God, I hate that word) minus Andrew being in her life.  This is NOT by any means even remotely a woman who'd going to be content being married to "Mr. Day Care".

 

With regards to feeling sorry for Natalie and Mike being a piece of S-H-I-T-E, I have ZERO sympathy for Natalie.  She deserves everything that S-H-I-T-T-Y dishes out to her, regardless of the fact that she left her country, because she's a full-grown adult and should be responsible for her life choices, be they good or bad.  There's no sympathy for her as far as I'm concerned, in light of her superiority complex and condescending calling out of Mike to be "low IQ" and "low class" and all the other terrible things I'm sure she says to him that we don't get to see.  Not to mention her hatred of his house, lifestyle choices, and religion.

 

I completely agree with you! I give Mike props just for putting up with all of Natalie’s personalities, let alone the constant biting comments about EVERYTHING. 

[Ucross]

I've slept in a car overnight. Not the end of the world.

[the-grey-lady]

Rebecca, did it ever occur to you to take a break from your impression of a poor man's Harley Quinn and, you know, ask Zied to help you look for your ring? Instead of huffing and puffing passive-aggressively and throwing couch cushions about dramatically? And maybe not getting upset with him about about the ring YOU lost?

[Drogo]

41 minutes ago, the-grey-lady said:

a poor man's Harley Quinn 

 10 points to Gryffindor!

 

[J80134]

The smell of Mike's revenge dumping on the wedding day was wafting stronger than his stinky socks. Giving her the ring was just to make it that much more shocking and cruel. I used to feel bad for him, cuz she's dreadful, but he proved his dickishness this time out.

Stephanie is disgusting. I hope Harris used a condom, cuz nobody knows where the cabana boy that kept her company while you were on that long bus ride has been.