S01.E08: Destiny

[ElectricBoogaloo]

Quote

Nicky and the Shens deal with the fallout after a family secret comes to light. Althea prepares for her bachelorette party.

Promo:

Original air date: 6/2/21

[memememe76]

I loved everything about this episode. Hot, shirtless guys. Fun bachelorette. A high strung Althea. Three heart to hearts between a child and parent. A strong case of the week. Kicking the butt of privileged young people. 

[possibilities]

I swear I recognize the actress who played Chloe, but I can't remember her name or where I've seen her before.

 

[paulvdb]

1 hour ago, possibilities said:

I swear I recognize the actress who played Chloe, but I can't remember her name or where I've seen her before.

 

Chelsea Clark. She played Esme on Degrassi and Norah on Ginny & Georgia.

[paigow]

Last week Nicky beat Cobra Kai with a TKO... TJ should have been unconscious in the first 20 seconds.

[paigow]

Chloe is on the next flight back to Hong Kong... No wedding for her... 

[tv echo]

Overall I enjoyed this episode and thought it was good. Standout scenes include the ones between Ryan & his father, and Althea & Dennis' mother. I also liked the fight at the Soong home between Nicky/Henry and TJ/Allegra/Kendall, although I think Nicky/Henry should've beat that untrained trio easily and quickly. Henry proves that he continues to be a good friend to Nicky even without the romance.  Althea continues to shine in every scene that she's in.

However, there were a few problems: One is still Nicky. On the plus side, she has believable fight scenes now that we know she has the special warrior bloodline heritage (someone in this episode - Ryan? - even says something to her about how he knew there had to be something more than three years training that allowed her to do this spectacular aerial flip). But on the negative side, Nicky continues to apply a double standard to her own behavior and the behavior of everyone else. Nicky is allowed to keep secrets from family and friends, but no one is allowed to keep secrets from her. When she told her mother she forgave her, I wanted to slap her. Nicky hurt and worried her family by dropping out of school and disappearing into a monastery for three years without explanation, and she returned home keeping secrets from her family. I agree that her mom should not have kept that family legacy a secret from Nicky, but Nicky doesn't have clean hands herself.

In addition, I would note that, once again, no one is allowed to break into places and steal things on this show except for Nicky. It wasn't that long ago that Nicky plotted to steal an artifact from a local museum.

Also, I hate the love triangle. Was the gratuitous shirtless scene with Evan supposed to make him a more popular option for Nicky? If so, it failed. Evan and Nicky still have zero chemistry together. If the producers and the network want an interracial OTP (since the network prides itself on diversity and tolerance), then they need to replace Evan with someone else. Right now, Nicky has more chemistry with Henry. However, I like Henry and I don't like Nicky at this point, so I kinda want Henry to find someone else. I know that Nicky is supposed to be conflicted about her feelings for the two men, but it just seems that she wants them both because they can help her in different ways.

I also don't see much chemistry between Althea and Dennis. But Dennis is such a good guy that I don't want anything bad to happen to him. They need to make Dennis more interesting.

It would be great if the first season ended up with a huge twist where Nicky is killed and it turns out that Althea is the real female warrior of this generation, but I know that won't happen. Althea will just continue to be Nicky's sisterly tech support and occasional comic relief.

There's so much going for this show, with the variety of characters and personalities, and a potentially intriguing mythology. And the supporting cast is great. They just need to fix some issues with the lead character - and get rid of the love triangle.

Edited June 3, 2021 by tv echo

[paigow]

16 minutes ago, tv echo said:

But Dennis is such a good guy that I don't want anything bad to happen to him. They need to make Dennis more interesting.

There will be a Crazy Rich showdown between Dennis and Tan Junior. Where we find out the Soongs would be even richer had the Tans not cheated them generations ago... Unfortunately, Dennis has no chance against Liu Kang so Nicky will have to intervene... then Zhilan will attack but all the Force Ghosts will help Nicky. 

[possibilities]

All I could think during the fight scene was: it's lucky none of these robbers carry guns.

[ElectricBoogaloo]

My favorite part about the family drama regarding Nicky's mom keeping the whole "we are descended from the first female warrior and are the rightful owners of this magical sword" is that not a single person even questioned that it was true. As soon as each of them heard about this, they immediately accepted it and never once questioned if it could possibly be just an old story that one of their relatives made up (I say this partly because Mr. EB has a relative who loves to make all kinds of claims about their family history and who they're related to).

It's totally hypocritical that Nicky has been keeping all kinds of secrets from her mom but is mad that her mom kept this ONE THING from her. I mean, I'm not going to even get into the fact that Nicky stayed in China for three years and apparently felt no need to contact anyone in her family aside from when she told them that she was not coming home. Since she came home, she has kept almost everything a secret from her mom: why she really came back, what happened to Pei-ling, the fact that she's hunting down various weapons and trying to outfox Zhilan who almost killed her, plus all the random stuff she's been doing when she leaves the house at all hours like, I don't know, going to a secret fight club. All she has done since coming back is lie to her mom and keep secrets, yet she's furious that her mom kept one part of their family history from her. On a side note, I can't wait for auntie Mei-Xue to show up!

I was trying to figure out how old Chloe is supposed to be and why Nicky had never met her before. Since Nicky already knew who Althea's fiance was and that he was a mathlete, they obviously all went to high school together, and Althea knows who Chloe is (and said that she missed her which I took to mean that they knew each other in real life before she got shipped off to Hong Kong) but Althea is supposed to be older than Nicky.

I love that Althea had a notebook entitled "Althea's amazing ideas." How long before Dennis makes Nosh Ninja into a real app? Other things I loved: cardboard Dennis and the Dungeons and Dragons bachelor party (complete with costumes).

I had to laugh when Diana asked Nicky to keep an eye on Chloe because she didn't want to hover. Oh, so inviting yourself to your future daughter in law's bachelorette party ISN'T hovering but being in physical proximity to your daughter at said party is?

5 hours ago, possibilities said:

All I could think during the fight scene was: it's lucky none of these robbers carry guns.

To be fair, since they've been focusing on breaking into their parents'/families' homes, they know they don't need any weapons since they have the security codes and only steal when they know that no one is home.

 

[paigow]

1 hour ago, ElectricBoogaloo said:

As soon as each of them heard about this, they immediately accepted it and never once questioned if it could possibly be just an old story that one of their relatives made up 

Nicky finally has "The Lost Ark" of clues- Henry will magically find the missing parts in the Community Center library

[thuganomics85]

While I'm always glad to see Richard Harmon, I hope he starts getting bigger roles instead of villains of the week and so forth.  Dude was awesome as Murphy on The 100 and can do so much better.  Maybe his former co-star, Lindsay Morgan, can hook him up with a sizable role on Walker!

Even if you were on the best terms, I don't understand why any mother in-law would want to go to her future daughter in-laws bachelorette party, considering what usually goes down (same for father in-laws and so forth with future son in-laws.)  Did Diana really think it was just going to be a casual affair?  Glad Althea finally let loose a little bit at the end and both of them seem to be on better terms now.  Still think Shannon Dang is the highlight here.  Her reactions to everything were great (especially when Nicky finally tells her about what went down with Chloe.)

So, Henry really wasn't being a dick last week and only meant that he didn't want to pursue a romance with Nicky for now, and still attends to help her out and even be her friend.  Of course, I'm sure some kind of angst will come out of it, but I'm glad he's at least not just completely cutting her off.  But Nicky really needs to decide if she cares about him that way or not, and if she still harbors anything for Evan still (who, in turn, needs to get stringing along his current girlfriend as well.)  Be mature, people!

The scenes with Ryan/Jin were nice: especially them bringing up the parents initial reaction to Ryan coming out to them that I vaguely remember them mentioning in the pilot.

Dennis using his bachelor party for a Dungeons & Dragons game makes me suddenly like him even more.  He seems like a good dude, so I'm thinking my prediction of him possibly being evil won't be true, at least.  Of course, that just means I think he might be destined to die instead, since his character still feels unnecessary.  Bonus points if he dies at the alter in a crying Althea's arms!

While I can understand the initial reactions, I'm glad Nicky and Jin are moving forward with forgiving Mei-Li, because I do think her deceit came from a place of love, even if it was the wrong call.  Plus, as shown, it's not like they don't have their own secrets as well.

Did like this episode since it focused a lot on the family/character dynamics, and was well acted all around (especially from Shannon Dang and Tzi Ma.)

[paigow]

47 minutes ago, thuganomics85 said:

Did like this episode since it focused a lot on the family/character dynamics, and was well acted all around (especially from Shannon Dang and Tzi Ma.)

Pei Ling: Sir, are you lost?

Jin: This place is all hot women???!! Then the answer is no. Who wants dumplings????

Edited June 4, 2021 by paigow

[tennisgurl]

This was a good episode, probably because it focused on the Shen's and their relationships with each other, which is always the best part of the show. Even the case of the week was connected to Althea's future in laws and allowed Althea to finally bond a bit with her judgmental rich future mother in law. It was also fun seeing Richard Harmon from The 100 showing up as one of the villains of the week, even if it was a small part. 

I am glad that Nicky and I both misunderstood Henry last week about him stepping back while Nicky tries to figure herself out, he isn't ditching her and the quest because he feels friend zoned, he still wants to be her friend and partner in questing, just without the sexual tension. Well, still with the sexual tension, but its going to have to last longer if we want to keep this love triangle going. I am glad that I misunderstood, now I can still like Henry and appreciate his hotness, while we all wait for the love triangle to lean towards Evan for a little bit now that it sounds like he and his new girlfriend sound like they're having problems. 

Of course Ryan and Jin start their emotional talk about the family secrets and Ryan's coming out by talking about sports, the classic way for guys to ease into talking about emotions. I really liked their scenes, they were very heartfelt and it seems like that was something Ryan really needed to hear considering he has talked about how hard it was for him to come out to his parents. I was also surprised to find out that Jin actually found Nicky in China but never said anything because he realized she was happy there, although its very in character for him. I am also glad that, while Nicky and Jin were understandably angry about Mei-Li keeping this from them, that they all made up quickly. While I am frequently frustrated by fictional parents and their tendencies to hide these huge life changing secrets about their families from their kids which always just make everything worse in the long run, Me-Li did do it out of love, and it has luckily not blown up too much in their faces yet. Plus, it seems like everyone in this family is keeping secrets, especially Nicky, so glass houses and all that. 

44 minutes ago, thuganomics85 said:

ven if you were on the best terms, I don't understand why any mother in-law would want to go to her future daughter in-laws bachelorette party, considering what usually goes down

I really like everything with Althea, not just because Althea is awesome (although she is) but because I too am planning a wedding now so I can really relate to all of her wedding subplots. There was talk for a minute about my future mother in law joining my bachelorette party, to the confusion and more than mild horror of both me and my fiancé, but luckily we talked her down to a nice brunch before the more...madcap festivities start. I once went to a bachelorette party of one of my childhood friends with both the brides mom and her future mother in law, and let me tell you, watching a women who used to drive you to Girl Scouts playing Pin the Penis on the Fireman is an imagine that will stick with you. Coincidently, my fiancé will ALSO be playing DnD for part of his bachelor party, so I am very inclined to like Dennis now. He seems like a really good guy, but I fear for his future. If they want to bring the family more into the sword quest and raise some stakes without losing any major characters, I feel like he could become a tragic casualty. 

[Camera One]

There were a lot of nice scenes in this episode, including some fun amusing ones and some nice talks, though the overall episode was a tad uneven.  I especially liked Nicky and her dad talking, and him revealing that he had visited the monastery and the meeting with Pei-Ling.  I also liked the scene with Nicky and her mom at the end, but I actually couldn't get myself to be at all angry at the mom for the secrets about her legendary ancestor warrior, so that made it a little difficult to see Nicky or the father's side of it.  The talk between Ryan and his father felt a little stilted for some reason, but the acting was fine.

I was really annoyed at Althea's future mother-in-law for crashing the bachelorette party and ruining things for Althea.  I was totally cheering Althea on when she told the mother-in-law that she was going to stop changing the way she acted to accommodate her.

I'm glad they are spending more time on character moments, but the case-of-the-week always feels a bit barebones.  Dennis' mom has security alerts on her phone, but the dad doesn't (speaking of which... where was he)?  Is she too cheap to hire an alarm monitoring service or something?  Or use a bank vault?  Why didn't the sister just hide all the most valuable jewelry in a garbage can before she left for the bachelorette party, if she knew the theft was going to happen that night?  Why would Dennis's mom be telling Kendall and the other one's mom that her daughter was coming back from Hong Kong, if she was worried about their bad influence on her?

I agree with all the comments above that Nicky and Henry should have mopped the kitchen floor with those three amateurs.  It was a fun sequence, but the three brats should have gotten more bruises.  If TJ releases all the tapes, doesn't he incriminate himself or provide evidence against himself?  So their MO was basically to rob each other's parents?  That's a tad limiting, isn't it?

They need to stop with Henry's "connections".  I laughed when he said he knew a buddy who did custom cars.  Of course he did.  Though that led to nothing, so I'm not even sure why they threw it in.  

Evan knew his girlfriend was coming, but he still had a cozy conversation with Nicky?  Was he looking at the clock the whole time she was talking, or what?  

Edited June 4, 2021 by Camera One

[AnimeMania]

If would be funny if Auntie Mei-Xue was married to Mr. Tan, which was why Mr. Tan was so interested in the sword and scroll in the first place.

[ElectricBoogaloo]

3 hours ago, tennisgurl said:

I am very inclined to like Dennis now. He seems like a really good guy, but I fear for his future. If they want to bring the family more into the sword quest and raise some stakes without losing any major characters, I feel like he could become a tragic casualty. 

I'm more afraid of Nicky's dad being killed off. When he was up at that motel by himself, I was waiting for Zhilan to swoop in and kill him.

[Trini]

Agree with all the comments about the family scenes - best part of this episode and the show. I like how they are fleshing out everyone, even the side characters.

Speaking of; anyone here watched Chuck? To me, Dennis is like the 'Captain Awesome' of this show. He's good and pure, a support to a supporting character, consistent and drama-free. I hope they keep him that way. 

Yeah, the love triangle isn't necessary. I just don't see a reason to root for Nicky/Evan; they're exes for a reason, he's already moved on, Henry is a better, available option. And I'm not even sure the Evan character is even needed at all; they could bring in another old friend if she needs to talk to someone outside the family.

Anyway, glad we got a little break from the Weapons Quest; wonder if we'll actually meet this Aunt soon, or next season?

[paigow]

4 hours ago, Trini said:

And I'm not even sure the Evan character is even needed at all; 

Someone has to protect her from prosecution and enable her felonies... legally

[emma675]

1 hour ago, paigow said:

And I'm not even sure the Evan character is even needed at all; 

Speak for yourself, I need Evan's abs.

[Trini]

12 minutes ago, emma675 said:

Speak for yourself, I need Evan's abs.

He's good looking, for sure!

[Camera One]

8 hours ago, Trini said:

Speaking of; anyone here watched Chuck? To me, Dennis is like the 'Captain Awesome' of this show. He's good and pure, a support to a supporting character, consistent and drama-free. I hope they keep him that way. 

I loved Captain Awesome on Chuck!  I hope Dennis will fill that role and stay on the show.  He needs more of a connection with Nicky and more of a purpose on the "team" because he really does seem superfluous at the moment.

Quote

I just don't see a reason to root for Nicky/Evan; they're exes for a reason, he's already moved on, Henry is a better, available option. 

I think Henry outshines Evan so far, but on paper, I think there is a strong case for Nicky and Evan.  They were supposedly high school sweethearts and Evan regularly went over to their place.  They only broke up because of Nicky's mom interfering, and of course, Nicky cutting ties with everyone for three years (which on paper, sounds pretty bad too).  

It was weird how Evan was suddenly having problems with his girlfriend in this episode and there was no explanation.  Even the triangle is very clumsily built.

Quote

they could bring in another old friend if she needs to talk to someone outside the family.

That brings up another issue.  Nicky grew up in San Francisco.  Did she have no friends?   That's the thing with shows... sometimes, they forget to build out a character's complete life.  Nicky is the protagonist.  She should have other non-romantically or genetically linked friends that she abandoned for 3 years.  

Edited June 5, 2021 by Camera One

[possibilities]

I can't remember why Nicky forgave her mother for interfering with her relationship with Evan, but it strikes me as very strange that she agreed to go to China to find a fiance, just because her mother wanted her to. Did she used to be very compliant, and only got rebellious after her time in the monastery?

[Testing]

Fun fact: Actor for Dennis is the face model for Sub-Zero in the Mortal Kombat 11 game. 

They should have kept his facial hair for the show, but guess it might have not fit the character. 

http://www.tonychungmodel.com/

 

[KaveDweller]

58 minutes ago, possibilities said:

I can't remember why Nicky forgave her mother for interfering with her relationship with Evan, but it strikes me as very strange that she agreed to go to China to find a fiance, just because her mother wanted her to. Did she used to be very compliant, and only got rebellious after her time in the monastery?

I don't think Nicky knew what her mother had in mind in China. Didn't she think it was just a cultural trip of some type, and then when she realized it was a matchmaking trip she bailed and ended up at the monastery. 

[Camera One]

Yes, in the pilot, Nicky's voiceover said her mom sent her on a "cultural tour of China", and then Nicky realized it was really a matchmaking tour, and that's why she escaped.

1 hour ago, possibilities said:

Did she used to be very compliant, and only got rebellious after her time in the monastery?

Yeah, I wonder about that, though the other characters don't act as if she's any different (except with kung fu skills).  Nicky seems like such a forceful and headstrong person, that it's strange she would let her mother break up her relationship with Evan.

 

Edited June 5, 2021 by Camera One

[william0102]

I forgive this show for a lot of things, but dear tv gods Evan is just a time suck. The actor is fine and doing what he can with the material, but it would be nice if we didn't have to deal with the love triangle. They keep telling us how close Nicky and Evan were, but there is a distinct lack of showing. I still have no idea why they were together in the first place- did they meet in school? Was he a rebellious act for Nicky, but she found she really cared for him? Either develop them early on or he needs to be just a friend. The writing isn't good enough for the two actors to carry the Nicky/Evan ship with as little substance as they're given. 

To whoever said the Ryan and the dad talk felt stilted, you're right. I think it was that they had to get it in in this episode because of pride, and there was no other episode to mention it in. Ryan hanging back and sending Nicky away? Okay I can buy that because he still resents Nicky leaving and doesn't want her to encourage her dad to do the same. But then to have them just sit and watch the game, to bring up Ryan understanding his mom that way? No. Her hiding a secret wasn't about herself or how she feels. She did it to protect Nicky. You don't hide you're gay to protect others in that same vein- you hide it cuz you don't want to lose your family, because their view of you changes. They fundamentally can deny your right to love or be yourself. It's not the same at all. Just a mishandle there by the writers. I'm sure there is a way to write the conversation with the comparison, but it wasn't that.

[Trini]

On 6/4/2021 at 8:24 PM, Camera One said:

I loved Captain Awesome on Chuck!  I hope Dennis will fill that role and stay on the show.  He needs more of a connection with Nicky and more of a purpose on the "team" because he really does seem superfluous at the moment.

I think they can find ways to include him more. Once he and Althea get married (and they better!) they'll be a package deal; but besides that, he has a rich family with connections in Asia, so I think they can do something with that.

Quote

It was weird how Evan was suddenly having problems with his girlfriend in this episode and there was no explanation.  Even the triangle is very clumsily built.

Replace "weird" with "deliberate", and that's my take on this boring love triangle.

 

5 hours ago, william0102 said:

I forgive this show for a lot of things, but dear tv gods Evan is just a time suck. The actor is fine and doing what he can with the material, but it would be nice if we didn't have to deal with the love triangle. They keep telling us how close Nicky and Evan were, but there is a distinct lack of showing. I still have no idea why they were together in the first place- did they meet in school? Was he a rebellious act for Nicky, but she found she really cared for him? Either develop them early on or he needs to be just a friend. The writing isn't good enough for the two actors to carry the Nicky/Evan ship with as little substance as they're given. 
 

Thanks for putting this better than I could. In theory, I could want Nicky to get back with her hot ex, but so far the show isn't really giving me any compelling reasons for me to root for them to get back together.

[possibilities]

Dennis will also be easier to integrate into the stories once Althea tells him what's been going on with her. It's that whole secret thing, which puts him on the outside, not only wrt the sword business, but also regarding her abusive boss.

[Camera One]

I'm catching up on some episodes of "Charmed" from earlier this season, and in one episode, they are in a dream-like sequence, and the periphery of the screen is out of focus except near their face.

I think "Kung Fu" uses this technique quite a lot?  For example, in the scene near the end where Nicky was talking to the mom.  The edges of the scene were all out of focus.  It's very distracting.  In the case of that "Charmed" episode, it fit because it was meant to be disorienting.  But I'm not sure why they do it on "Kung Fu" in normal scenes.

46 minutes ago, Trini said:

I think they can find ways to include him more. Once he and Althea get married (and they better!) they'll be a package deal; but besides that, he has a rich family with connections in Asia, so I think they can do something with that.

Yes, I think Dennis could be the "money".  There's no way Nicky can track down the weapons if she has no budget.  You would think eventually, they would need to travel.  Plus once they find an artifact, they would need to buy it, if they plan to go the legal route.  

6 hours ago, william0102 said:

They keep telling us how close Nicky and Evan were, but there is a distinct lack of showing. I still have no idea why they were together in the first place- did they meet in school?

There was one scene a few episodes back where the siblings were together with Evan and they were reminiscing about how Evan was always over at the house.  So I'm assuming they did meet in school and they all know each other well.

Quote

To whoever said the Ryan and the dad talk felt stilted, you're right. I think it was that they had to get it in in this episode because of pride, and there was no other episode to mention it in. Ryan hanging back and sending Nicky away? Okay I can buy that because he still resents Nicky leaving and doesn't want her to encourage her dad to do the same. But then to have them just sit and watch the game, to bring up Ryan understanding his mom that way? No. Her hiding a secret wasn't about herself or how she feels. She did it to protect Nicky. You don't hide you're gay to protect others in that same vein- you hide it cuz you don't want to lose your family, because their view of you changes. They fundamentally can deny your right to love or be yourself. It's not the same at all. Just a mishandle there by the writers. I'm sure there is a way to write the conversation with the comparison, but it wasn't that.

I think you hit the nail on the head for why I felt it was stilted.  The parallels between Ryan keeping his secret and the mom keeping the secret were not parallel situations, so it didn't fit for that moment.  The conversation should have come in an episode that was more Ryan-centric.  The dad is definitely more open-minded than the mom, but they both reacted the same way when they found out about Ryan, so his complete acceptance of Ryan now seemed too fast and shoe-horned in.

Edited June 6, 2021 by Camera One

[william0102]

6 minutes ago, Camera One said:

Yes, I think Dennis could be the "money".  There's no way Nicky can track down the weapons if she has no budget.  You would think eventually, they would need to travel.  Plus once they find an artifact, they would need to buy it, if they plan to go the legal route.  

There was one scene a few episodes back where the siblings were together with Evan and they were reminiscing about how Evan was always over at the house.  So I'm assuming they did meet in school and they all know each other well.

Dennis as the money is great, because you know he would be up for adventuring, thinking it's a D&D campaign come to life, lol. Honestly, I love all the characters except for Nicky's love interests. Henry is okay with me though because either he's really chill or he's connected to Zhilan somehow, and I'm fine with either option. Whereas Evan is just... there. He cares about Nicky, but I didn't like him checking out Henry's past. I don't like that he seems so bothered by how he feels about his girlfriend now that Nicky's back. Either he likes his gf or not. It's been three years since he was with Nicky, she shouldn't be a factor about his feelings for his gf, and if she is, then he doesn't deserve Nicky or his gf if he doesn't end it pronto.

I forgot about them saying Evan was always over, thanks for the reminder :) Even that though, was it the last year or two of high school? Was it the beginning/sophomore year or college? We can assume from the info the writers gave that they were old enough to go to the cabin multiple times. But what about earlier? Did they bond over their parents pushing them towards being a lawyer, having met when they took more law oriented junior/senior level classes? Or are they high school sweethearts? How did they meet if they were younger, like middle school, because I would assume them going to the same middle school isn't very likely. We should know these things, or a few romantic acts, already if Evan is having relationship problems.

[paigow]

3 minutes ago, william0102 said:

Dennis as the money is great, because you know he would be up for adventuring, thinking it's a D&D campaign come to life, lol. 

Dude does not have enough HP to deal with Zhilan...   

[ElectricBoogaloo]

1 hour ago, william0102 said:

I forgot about them saying Evan was always over, thanks for the reminder :) Even that though, was it the last year or two of high school? Was it the beginning/sophomore year or college? We can assume from the info the writers gave that they were old enough to go to the cabin multiple times.

Nicky dropped out of Harvard, so she and Evan must have known each other from high school or earlier.

[AnimeMania]

1 hour ago, possibilities said:

Dennis will also be easier to integrate into the stories once Althea tells him what's been going on with her. It's that whole secret thing, which puts him on the outside, not only wrt the sword business, but also regarding her abusive boss.

Can Althea tell her husband since she signed an NDA? I imagine Dennis would want to retaliate in some kind of way since he is a personal acquaintance and he and his parents still do business with him.

 

[william0102]

 @AnimeMania Althea should have signed an nda when she started working, not after she had already left. And they aren't supposed to be used to cover up crimes, because judges will just say "ha ha, no that doesn't work like that". She would have just not had to say anything about the company's secrets, but she could have reported being harassed. So the show isn't using ndas right in the first place.

Second, they're avoiding the real issue, which is that no one will believe the women because the dude is the boss. Victims are the ones who lose their jobs, have physical and emotional distress- and then when they do talk about what happened, they get the public scrutiny, retaliation, and whatever backlash their new employers may have. Nothing Althea has to say would jeopardize the company, the nda is strictly to avoid scandal, and even Nicky should know that it's not enforceable when it comes to covering up a crime. What Althea lacks is evidence (and it's where we get to hear the famous 'he said, she said' line), and she doesn't have any other victims to back up her story because they've all been intimidated just like her.

Althea can tell whoever she wants, what her old boss is trying to avoid is her going to the press and a scandal. Because he could sue her, but it would be in the papers, which isn't what he wants. And I'd bet if he knew Althea is marrying Dennis/rich, then he really wants to intimidate her before she can afford all the litigation it would take just to prove she has a right to share her story with the public.

[paigow]

Althea took the cash settlement for charity in exchange for signing the NDA. Breaking the NDA might force repayment.