S01.E05: As the Carny Gods Intended

[BingeyKohan]

I can't get fully on the Mallory train. (part of it my bias against her vocal cadence, but that's petty of me) But then part of me also thinks she saw Jeanette swipe Kate's scrunchy and said hold my beer, I'm going to start going to the same therapist as her!

[Chaos Theory]

I think Mallory is exactly who she appears to be.  Someone who gets dumped by her best friend Janette in her climb to popularity who discovers she actually has more in common with  the traumatized Kate.    Mallory is bitter so she clings to other bitter people which is why she looks shady but I think she actually does care about Kate and has been a genuine friend to her.

Edited May 15, 2021 by Chaos Theory

[SoMuchTV]

18 minutes ago, Chaos Theory said:

I think Mallory is exactly who she appears to be.  Someone who gets dumped by her best friend Janette in her climb to popularity who discovers she actually has more in common with  the traumatized Kate.    Mallory is bitter so she clings to other bitter people which is why she looks shady but I think she actually dies care about Kate and has been a genuine friend to her.

I actually was wondering if Mallory had engineered that initial meeting at the therapist’s office, and she’s running some kind of long con, but I’m probably too cynical. 

[Ambrosefolly]

I hope that they aren't going that route of over sophisticating teenagers like Pretty Little Liars. Like somehow Jeanette engineered Kate's captivity or Mallory planned on bumping into Kate and the shrink's office. I do think that Mallory cares about Kate, but I think that her own resentment towards Jeanette fuels her attachment towards Kate. Also, Kate is now more open to her somewhat well-meaning, but controlling behavior.  The one person I feel sorry for is Vince, as it seems he also doesn't have anyone and didn't do anything to deserve it. Jeanette is a shut in and Mallory spends all of her time with Kate. Vince has tried to be a friend to both of them it seems.

Edited May 16, 2021 by Ambrosefolly

[peachmangosteen]

11 hours ago, SoMuchTV said:

I actually was wondering if Mallory had engineered that initial meeting at the therapist’s office, and she’s running some kind of long con, but I’m probably too cynical. 

Yea, I thought about that, too.

This show makes me suspicious of everyone but then I think that in the end everyone will be layered of course but ultimately good people except Martin, who will be the one and only true villain.

[calliope1975]

I can't remember if it was Kate or Jeanette but at the fair, one of them was wearing a pair of Steve Madden black low platform slides, and I immediately regretted getting rid of mine recently when I moved because those were the best shoes.

[TattleTeeny]

Oh my goodness, you guys—I am at an outdoor bar for one of my BF’s gigs (first outing in so long! Distanced and I’m vaxed) and what is the first song this band plays? “What’s Up?” Oh, it’s gonna be re-jammed in my brain now!

[twoods]

I do appreciate all the nostalgic 90’s songs, especially since I was a high schooler at the same time as the timeline. I remember how relatable “Zombies” was even though I couldn’t stand how annoying the song was. I am also holding out hope that there is no bad person and it was just a big misunderstanding with Jeanette not seeing Kate and instead a reflection of herself through the window before she ran off. I can sympathize with both girls and don’t want either of them to be the “bad guy”. 

[itsweird]

Did we ever figure out why Jamie is stalking Jeanette in 1995?  Is it a creepy hate thing or a creepy obsessed thing?  

[JenE4]

27 minutes ago, itsweird said:

Did we ever figure out why Jamie is stalking Jeanette in 1995?  Is it a creepy hate thing or a creepy obsessed thing?  

We don’t know. The fact that he had a gun didn’t look good! Vincent and Jeanette both seemed to think Jamie meant her harm. Vincent wanted to call the police. Jeanette was resigned that if he hurts me, oh well. We can probably assume Jamie thinks that it’s true that Jeanette lied and took over Kate’s life, using him, and “ruining” his relationship with Kate. (Even though on the day Kate was to be rescued, he said he never even thought about Kate and assumed she ran away.) With this show, no doubt there will be another deeper, darker twist to come that hasn’t yet been revealed.

[dariafan]

Why does anyone hang around Angela and Tennille?? 

[LuvMyShows]

On 5/11/2021 at 11:47 PM, KaveDweller said:

Really sucks for Jeanette's father to have lost his job defending his daughter. And it seems like he lost his wife over the whole thing, since she couldn't handle the scandal (although he may have also cheated). I kind of hope he gets some money.

I was very surprised to realize that the lawyers Jeanette's father hired were solely so that they could press the libel charges against Kate...somehow I had thought he had needed to hire lawyers to defend Jeanette against something.  Doesn't seem very smart, when you believe yourself to be at risk for losing your house because of it, to undertake something so incredibly expensive and risky.  And the payout isn't even a sure thing if they win.

[truthaboutluv]

On 5/14/2021 at 4:07 PM, mandymax said:

And I believe Jeannette definitely had a crush on Martin in 1994, which would lead to her going in and out of his house whenever she feels like it to feel "close" to him.  

I know I'm a few months late with this comment but what can I say, I only started binge watching the show this past weekend. I'm not done yet and so it's possible I may end up with egg on my face after watching all the episodes. However, so far I've gotten no indication that Jeannette has a crush on Martin. 

I think Jeannette's going back into Martin's house was exactly what she said it was to Mallory - the rush. Which is probably the same rush she gets from stealing other things and lying about it. It's the doing something "bad" and being able to get away with it that's appealing to her. Which, of course, certainly would suggest that she is guilty of what Kate's accusing her of. 

But as someone else noted, I think this is more likely a case of the girl who cried wolf, where Jeannette is probably guilty of lying about a lot of things but this is the one thing she's not lying about. But naturally no one believes her - well except her brother. Because despite paying for her lawsuit, I don't think even her father believes her anymore.

Also, I think I'm in the minority in still not buying Jeannette as this complete psychopath. I feel like some of her actions are being viewed through the lens of she's probably guilty of leaving Kate kidnapped in a basement and so that's making them seem worse than they are. Like the bailing on Gideon.

Come on, we're talking about a 15 year old girl who already clearly didn't want to go on this date, who freaked out when she saw popular girls she wanted to impress. Was it a nice thing to do, of course not. Was it that out of the ordinary for a teenager, not really. Teenagers are often shallow people. 

eta: Forgot to add. Am I the only one completely freaked out by Mallory's voice? She has this deep, creepy voice that at sometimes almost doesn't sound real. Like it was a put on by the actress. But I can't imagine why anyone would willingly want to sound like that. 

Also, another unpopular opinion, but I don't care for Mallory at all. For all the judgements against Jeannette, I frankly didn't find Mallory the greatest friend to Jeannette and Vincent, pre-popular Jeannette. She came across as a loud and obnoxious bully, pushing around her two dorky friends.

And I can just as easily believe that Mallory iced Jeannette out as much as the latter did her, once Jeannette became popular. Because considering her unwarranted hatred of Kate, before getting to know her later, it's clear Mallory was the cliché, "all popular kids are bitches and evil and I'm too cool and special for them."

Either way, unless Jeannette did something truly heinous to Mallory before ending their friendship, her seemingly unhinged hatred of Jeannette, pre-Kate's return, is just as strange and disturbing as Jeannette's behavior supposedly is. 

Edited March 13, 2022 by truthaboutluv

[peachmangosteen]

6 hours ago, truthaboutluv said:

Also, another unpopular opinion, but I don't care for Mallory at all.

I don't think that's an UO. Mallory got SO much hate lol.