S02.E01: ... been a playa

[paulvdb]

Quote

Ahead of their impending move to India, Devi faces her first-ever love triangle, while Nalini tries to sell her patient roster to a flashy competitor.

 

[twoods]

Oh Devi, this is not going to go well. I have missed this show.

[peachmangosteen]

Paxton looks borderline old enough to be Davi’s dad. It’s really squicking me out lol.

[jacksgirl]

Welcome Back Devi, Eleanor, Fab, and other Sherman Oakers. Wish more of my friends watched so I'd have others to discuss this with. Loved S1! Go Devi.

Can't read any more comments. Am saving NHIE until the dog days of August. Have fun everybody!

Edited July 15, 2021 by jacksgirl

[twoods]

Her and Ben make more sense together, so of course this show will likely go the route of Paxton. 
Now I can’t unsee Paxton looking a lot older than Devi. 
I am also enjoying Common’s character.

[DanaMB]

24 minutes ago, peachmangosteen said:

Paxton looks borderline old enough to be Davi’s dad. It’s really squicking me out lol.

I’m terrible at ages… I had to look his up. He’s 30 to her 19. 😳

[peachmangosteen]

Yep and he looks every bit of those 30 years lol. I really wish they had hired someone younger.

[shapeshifter]

 @paulvdb, thank you soooo much for creating individual episode threads ! 🙏🏻🙇🏻‍♀️😘
I have only watch this one of season 2 so far.

 

44 minutes ago, DanaMB said:

I’m terrible at ages… I had to look his up. He’s 30 to her 19. 😳

Oy. I wish I hadn't read that. 

Oh well, moving on to the fictional, age-appropriate character discussion...

I usually hate triangles, but this one is realistic and age-appropriate. It reminds me of when I was not much older than Devi and, while back the Stoners Age, nobody went steady or on actual dates, I did have times when more than one guy expressed an interest and I felt I need to pick one. 
In the end I've spent most of my life uncoupled. I would like to see Devi eventually realizing she doesn't need to be half of a couple.

[Evie]

Devi dating both isn't going to end well, but I can't blame her, believing she'll be moving to India in a month (I'm assuming the move won't happen). 

I like Devi with both guys though now knowing the Paxton actor's real age it does squick me out. 

[possibilities]

I actually think it makes more sense for kids that age to date around a bit before settling into a couple. But it won't end well because that doesn't seem to be socially accepted anymore. 

 

[tennisgurl]

Nice to have this show back again, with Devi and her friends, family, potential boyfriends, and of course, our narrator John. 

Devi trying to date both boys is going to end badly, but I can see why Devi sees it as being a good idea considering she thinks she's moving to India in a month. I don't think the move will actually end up happening, but Devi certainly does. It might actually have been easier if Devi had just told guy guys she wanted to date casually and see both of them, the sitcom style juggling two dates is what is going to cause all of the trouble. 

[shapeshifter]

19 hours ago, possibilities said:

I actually think it makes more sense for kids that age to date around a bit before settling into a couple. But it won't end well because that doesn't seem to be socially accepted anymore. 

Yes, even 10 years ago when my youngest was in college and not ready to get married, she would tell me how guilty she felt for dating 2 guys. I could not convince her it was appropriate. 

[peachmangosteen]

I think it's fine but you should probably be letting them know about each other lol. 

[truthaboutluv]

Ah I missed this crazy show. And it was back in fine form. I died at Devi's mom saying to Ben, "it's always the short ones" and asking Devi if she was going to have sex on her grave. I wonder if they're going to go for the cliché and go there with Devi's mom and Common's character. 

I guess I have the unpopular opinion of not seeing this big glaring age difference with Devi and Paxton. Yes, I know the actor's real life age and for sure, Hollywood needs to stop hiring adults to play teenagers. But I've never thought it was glaringly obvious onscreen. 

Honestly, the actor who plays Ben is only a year older than Maitreyi in real life and in some close ups and scenes he looks much older. He's short but he actually has something of an adult face. I've thought Fabiola at times has a more mature look to her and the actress is only 21 in real life. 

Point being that in typical Hollywood fashion, the teenagers rarely ever look like actual teenagers. Which I guess may be what makes the Paxton thing glaring for some because Maitreyi is one of the few actors playing a high school kid who looks like one. But yeah Paxton and Devi scenes don't bother me at all. 

Paxton and Ben are both fine and I loved Devi's Pros and Cons list. I especially liked that she didn't ignore Ben's being a massive dick to her for years and Paxton's essentially not being on her intellectual level. But yeah I'm basically Team No One for this triangle and I'm just waiting for when it inevitably and hilariously blows up in Devi's face. 

I'm just not buying the chemistry between Devi and Ben and her and Paxton are cringe because he's well, just not very bright. I just don't buy either one is really right for her, But as others said, dumb as the plan may be, I can understand her thought process when she was operating under the belief she'd be moving halfway across the world in a month anyway.

Edited July 17, 2021 by truthaboutluv

[peachmangosteen]

Don't cast a 19 year if you're gonna cast a 30 year old as her love interest lol. I don't mind 20 somethings playing teens (30 somethings is pushing it though imo) but when there are some actual teens in there too, it's always very obvious to me and usually pretty squicky.

But also for me, the actor playing Paxton looks every bit of those 30 years. 

[festivus]

Maybe it's because I'm older than dirt, but everyone looks early 20s to me and I'm used to seeing that age playing teenagers. I said it last season that Devi is the only one who looks like an actual teen. 

[Irlandesa]

On 7/15/2021 at 6:37 PM, possibilities said:

I actually think it makes more sense for kids that age to date around a bit before settling into a couple. But it won't end well because that doesn't seem to be socially accepted anymore. 

As teenagers? In the same school?  I think dating around in college is okay but dating people in the same high school seems like it's a recipe for disaster. Too many hormones.  Too many emotions.  It's the place where people get go try out their first relationships,  get their first heartbreak and that makes them realize it doesn't need to be so serious just in time for college.

But also, if you're going to do that....

On 7/16/2021 at 4:23 PM, peachmangosteen said:

I think it's fine but you should probably be letting them know about each other lol. 

Yep.  This is the ethical approach.   Or at least be clear that the plan is to date other people.

[love2lovebadtv]

On 7/17/2021 at 1:01 AM, truthaboutluv said:

Ah I missed this crazy show. And it was back in fine form. I died at Devi's mom saying to Ben, "it's always the short ones" and asking Devi if she was going to have sex on her grave. I wonder if they're going to go for the cliché and go there with Devi's mom and Common's character. 

I guess I have the unpopular opinion of not seeing this big glaring age difference with Devi and Paxton. Yes, I know the actor's real life age and for sure, Hollywood needs to stop hiring adults to play teenagers. But I've never thought it was glaringly obvious onscreen. 

Honestly, the actor who plays Ben is only a year older than Maitreyi in real life and in some close ups and scenes he looks much older. He's short but he actually has something of an adult face. I've thought Fabiola at times has a more mature look to her and the actress is only 21 in real life. 

Point being that in typical Hollywood fashion, the teenagers rarely ever look like actual teenagers. Which I guess may be what makes the Paxton thing glaring for some because Maitreyi is one of the few actors playing a high school kid who looks like one. But yeah Paxton and Devi scenes don't bother me at all. 

Paxton and Ben are both fine and I loved Devi's Pros and Cons list. I especially liked that she didn't ignore Ben's being a massive dick to her for years and Paxton's essentially not being on her intellectual level. But yeah I'm basically Team No One for this triangle and I'm just waiting for when it inevitably and hilariously blows up in Devi's face. 

I'm just not buying the chemistry between Devi and Ben and her and Paxton are cringe because he's well, just not very bright. I just don't buy either one is really right for her, But as others said, dumb as the plan may be, I can understand her thought process when she was operating under the belief she'd be moving halfway across the world in a month anyway.

I think it's more problematic here because Paxton looks soooooo much older than Devi. 

Also, what does Common's character mean/refer to? 

On 7/17/2021 at 6:59 PM, Irlandesa said:

As teenagers? In the same school?  I think dating around in college is okay but dating people in the same high school seems like it's a recipe for disaster. Too many hormones.  Too many emotions.  It's the place where people get go try out their first relationships,  get their first heartbreak and that makes them realize it doesn't need to be so serious just in time for college.

But also, if you're going to do that....

Yep.  This is the ethical approach.   Or at least be clear that the plan is to date other people.

They're literally sitting on either side of Devi in class. It's not cool IMO lol. 

On 7/17/2021 at 1:15 PM, festivus said:

Maybe it's because I'm older than dirt, but everyone looks early 20s to me and I'm used to seeing that age playing teenagers. I said it last season that Devi is the only one who looks like an actual teen. 

I think Devi may be the only one who's an actual teen in real life. Her friends look much older and so does Ben. I think it's Paxton's wrinkles that feel uncomfortable when he's dating/kissing teenage Devi.

Edited July 25, 2021 by love2lovebadtv

[Irlandesa]

8 minutes ago, love2lovebadtv said:

I think Devi may be the only one who's an actual teen in real life. Her friends look much older and so does Ben. I think it's Paxton's wrinkles that feel uncomfortable when he's dating/kissing teenage Devi.

The actress who plays Devi is currently 19.  She was 18 when the show started.  The Ben actor is only a year older so he was a teen when the show started but he's 20 now.  Eleanor is 23.  I can't find the age of the actress who plays Fabiola.

[possibilities]

I stick with my opinion that it's fine for teens to date more than one person and NOT be a couple. But I agree that the key is to be open and clear about what your intentions are. I may not be as much of a romantic as most people, but I don't see anything wrong with going out with someone, enjoying each other, but not being exclusive. If everyone is on the same page, there's no reason for melodrama. Not everyone is pretend marrying the first person they kiss. 

[Phebemarie]

Wasn't there a throwaway line in one of the early episodes about all the "teens" in Riverdale actually being actors in their 30s?  I spent the first season wondering if that was some sort of meta line explaining why the actor cast as Paxton is obviously not in his teens anymore.  He's a handsome man, but he doesn't look like a teenager.  

[peachmangosteen]

7 hours ago, Phebemarie said:

Wasn't there a throwaway line in one of the early episodes about all the "teens" in Riverdale actually being actors in their 30s?  I spent the first season wondering if that was some sort of meta line explaining why the actor cast as Paxton is obviously not in his teens anymore.  He's a handsome man, but he doesn't look like a teenager.  

Yea, and I too took it as a self jab at them casting a 30 year old to play Paxton.

[twoods]

7 hours ago, Phebemarie said:

Wasn't there a throwaway line in one of the early episodes about all the "teens" in Riverdale actually being actors in their 30s?  I spent the first season wondering if that was some sort of meta line explaining why the actor cast as Paxton is obviously not in his teens anymore.  He's a handsome man, but he doesn't look like a teenager.  

Which is untrue since the cast are all in their 20’s, some early 20’s when the show started. I don’t think the Paxton actor looks 30 but he does look significantly older than Devi, but that’s not the reason I don’t prefer her with him.

[love2lovebadtv]

 

On 7/22/2021 at 1:51 AM, possibilities said:

I stick with my opinion that it's fine for teens to date more than one person and NOT be a couple. But I agree that the key is to be open and clear about what your intentions are. I may not be as much of a romantic as most people, but I don't see anything wrong with going out with someone, enjoying each other, but not being exclusive. If everyone is on the same page, there's no reason for melodrama. Not everyone is pretend marrying the first person they kiss. 

I think it's totally fine but it doesn't seem like these teenagers are just casually dating. And, as you mentioned, Devi hasn't been honest. It's not like she went with one dance with one guy and then went on a date with someone else. They are sitting on either side of her in class and they went to her party thinking they were her date and boyfriend. That's the part that's not cool. 

I don't think Devi is mature enough to be in a relationship and I would love to see her work on her issues while dating - not being a relationship, just dating. But Devi seems to have a lot of trouble regulating her emotions - even more so than the average teen and I think it's an interesting thing that the show is exploring. 

On 7/23/2021 at 2:07 AM, Phebemarie said:

Wasn't there a throwaway line in one of the early episodes about all the "teens" in Riverdale actually being actors in their 30s?  I spent the first season wondering if that was some sort of meta line explaining why the actor cast as Paxton is obviously not in his teens anymore.  He's a handsome man, but he doesn't look like a teenager.  

Yes, I thought that was funny. Not only does Paxton not look like a teenager, but he has premature wrinkles that make his scenes with Devi more difficult to watch. Also, am I the only one who doesn't think he's handsome and wishes he would keep his shirt on? 

Edited July 25, 2021 by love2lovebadtv

[love2lovebadtv]

On 7/22/2021 at 12:21 AM, Irlandesa said:

The actress who plays Devi is currently 19.  She was 18 when the show started.  The Ben actor is only a year older so he was a teen when the show started but he's 20 now.  Eleanor is 23.  I can't find the age of the actress who plays Fabiola.

I think Eleanor, Ben, and Fabiola are still believable for TV high school students. Wrinkled Paxton kissing Devi is uncomfortable. And I'm also uncomfortable that they're trying to make an alleged teenager a sex symbol. He's not lol.

[Joimiaroxeu]

3 hours ago, love2lovebadtv said:

 

I think it's totally fine but it doesn't seem like these teenagers are just casually dating. And, as you mentioned, Devi hasn't been honest. It's not like she went with one dance with one guy and then went on a date with someone else. They are sitting on either side of her in class and they went to her party thinking they were her date and boyfriend. That's the part that's not cool. 

I don't think Devi is mature enough to be in a relationship and I would love to see her work on her issues while dating - not being a relationship, just dating. But Devi seems to have a lot of trouble regulating her emotions - even more so than the average teen and I think it's an interesting thing that the show is exploring. 

Yes, I thought that was funny. Not only does Paxton not look like a teenager, but he has premature wrinkles that make his scenes with Devi more difficult to watch. Also, am I the only one who doesn't think he's handsome and wishes he would keep his shirt on? 

My post got quoted but I didn't post in this forum. Mishap?

[shapeshifter]

58 minutes ago, Joimiaroxeu said:

My post got quoted but I didn't post in this forum. Mishap?

I noticed that in other boards by another poster too. At first my academic librarian background set off plagiarism! alarms. But I’m pretty sure it happens when posters are on platforms and/or devices and/or have internet connections where they feel they need to copy stuff into a text editor and then paste it here when they’re done, and sometimes the quotes lose their quote format. 
*Sigh*

[Joimiaroxeu]

^^^The quote is clearly identified to me and it can be traced back to where I actually posted it. I'm just mystified why it ended up here. I don't even watch this show, lol.

[shapeshifter]

37 minutes ago, Joimiaroxeu said:

^^^The quote is clearly identified to me and it can be traced back to where I actually posted it. I'm just mystified why it ended up here. I don't even watch this show, lol.

Oh. You mean this Good Fight post that was quoted here on this board by @love2lovebadtv.  
So I still think it has to be pilot error, either of the variety I described above related to working offline on a post, or there’s also the feature on these boards where you can click the + sign and then paste a quote into another thread or board. It’s most useful when “taking a topic to Small Talk,” but I think here we see where the feature can appear to be a bug. 😝

[Irlandesa]

3 minutes ago, shapeshifter said:

where you can click the + sign and then paste a quote into another thread or board. It’s most useful when “taking a topic to Small Talk,” but I think here we see where the feature can appear to be a bug.

I was trying to write up a short explanation on how this happens but failing.  You did a pretty good job.  It's an amazing feature for moving things to small talk or a more appropriate thread but can definitely create an oopsie if you forget to close the button. 

5 hours ago, love2lovebadtv said:

Also, am I the only one who doesn't think he's handsome and wishes he would keep his shirt on?

I think his body is cuter than his face.  And while I can appreciate having a more manly looking dude be the "heart throb" a real teen might not be, 30's a stretch. You can get that in 22 year old.

[twoods]

I’ve always found the guys that look like Ben to be more of my “this guy is hot” instead of Paxton who just seems unattainable so I just don’t bother. Plus, guys that are into school are more attractive IMO.

[shapeshifter]

10 minutes ago, Irlandesa said:

And while I can appreciate having a more manly looking dude be the "heart throb" a real teen might not be, 30's a stretch. You can get that in 22 year old.

—which is what they apparently thought Benet was:

Quote

…co-creator Lang Fisher told News Week:…"You can't ask someone how old they are when they audition. You just have to assume that they're a reasonable age. I don't think we found out what his age was until we were deep in the season and then we were like, 'Oh, OK.' I assumed he was, like, 20. And…, when you see an actual 15-year-old boy, they're just not going to be a heartthrob. They look like a tiny baby." https://www.hellomagazine.com/film/20210720117865/never-have-i-ever-fans-react-darren-barnet-real-age/

Heh, I remember this same kind of flap over 25-year-old Jason Behr playing 15-year-old Max in the Pilot of Roswell in 1999, but at the time my TV was a 19-inch, very low resolution tube set, so I literally could not see what all the uproar was about. Nowadays a lot of people watch on tiny devices where it probably is a non-issue as well. I wonder if the show runners did that during the pandemic?  But perhaps also during the pandemic a lot of viewers upgraded their TVs to hi-def that show every wrinkle. 

[Irlandesa]

47 minutes ago, shapeshifter said:

—which is what they apparently thought Benet was:

Ha.  Is Lang 80? Then I could see why he might not see a difference. :)

[love2lovebadtv]

11 hours ago, Joimiaroxeu said:

My post got quoted but I didn't post in this forum. Mishap?

I figured out what happened. I pressed multi-quote when I was in The Good fight forum but I don't think I ever ended up posting anything. The next time I logged on it was to post in this forum. I think your post was still included in the multi-quote. I would have removed it from the multi-quote if I had seen it when I was posting, though. Sorry about that!

[shapeshifter]

1 hour ago, love2lovebadtv said:

I figured out what happened. I pressed multi-quote when I was in The Good fight forum but I don't think I ever ended up posting anything. The next time I logged on it was to post in this forum. I think your post was still included in the multi-quote. I would have removed it from the multi-quote if I had seen it when I was posting, though. Sorry about that!

There's also a bug related to the Multi-quote box not being able to be closed if you're not at the top of the screen.
I reported it on the Bugs thread.

 

[paulvdb]

19 minutes ago, shapeshifter said:

There's also a bug related to the Multi-quote box not being able to be closed if you're not at the top of the screen.
I reported it on the Bugs thread.

 

That seems to be specific to the IPS Default theme. Using the light or dark them the up arrow is to the right of the multiquote box.

[AllAstronauts]

@shapeshifter can you provide a larger screenshot? I'm not sure why your up is not only in that position but looks like it does.

EDIT: Ahh. The default theme. That probably shouldn't even be available honestly...

 

[shapeshifter]

1 minute ago, paulvdb said:

That seems to be specific to the IPS Default theme. Using the light or dark them the up arrow is to the right of the multiquote box.

Hah! I was 99% sure it was the IPS Default theme issue. 
But the IPS Default is the only theme without Ads blocking the content (forums.primetimer.com/topic/111452-jeopardy-season-37-2020-2021/?do=findComment&comment=6874963).

 

[shapeshifter]

10 minutes ago, AllAstronauts said:

@shapeshifter can you provide a larger screenshot? I'm not sure why your up is not only in that position but looks like it does.

[dubbel zout]

On 7/16/2021 at 5:23 PM, peachmangosteen said:

I think it's fine but you should probably be letting them know about each other lol. 

Yeah, that's the issue here.

Given that Paxton thinks a date involves having his friends around, he'd probably be okay with not being so exclusive. Ben, though, probably wouldn't be as okay. But she needs to tell them so they can decide.

I like what they're doing with Kamala, and I hope she's able to push back against all of that gendered crap in the lab.

[dubbel zout]

I forgot to say in my previous post that I amused myself by thinking that Common probably supplied that photo of him with Hugh Jackman. No Photoshop necessary!

[Scarlett45]

I was touched when Devi listened to her Dad’s voicemail. I have done that when loved ones have died. When you delete the last voicemail and their phone contact it’s a moment of closure in the grieving process. 

On 8/6/2021 at 8:04 PM, dubbel zout said:

I forgot to say in my previous post that I amused myself by thinking that Common probably supplied that photo of him with Hugh Jackman. No Photoshop necessary!

I know! So fun. I like Common. 
 

“If I could have a smoke show like Paxton, Oliver would be kicked to the curb!”- Eleanor🤣