S01.E04: Recentering

[BeckyThatcher]

8 hours ago, CarpeFelis said:

The guy in the Cornell hat is Shane, not Quinn.

Thanks! Corrected my comment.

[chocolatine]

1 hour ago, dmc said:

This didn’t happen because this guy re-rented the room by accident.  It happened because he lied about it.  First he lied and said that was the room he rented when he knew he made a mistake.  Then when Shane was willing to except the new room, Shane asked am I at least paying the lower rate and then he lied about that.  Only after Shane checked with his mother and the travel agent and confirmed he had booked the right room and he was paying the higher wrong rate did the guy address it.  Then after he addressed it and knew that he lied to the guy three times he deliberately sabotaged that cruise.

[...] 

Shane being a dick doesn’t change the fact that he has a right to be pissed here. 

Agree with all of this, and also want to add that the staff at upscale resorts deals with customers like Shane all the time (he's a jerk, but not exceptionally so for a man of his social class), and it's part of their job to de-escalate such situations. Armand is doing the opposite. Double-booking the honeymoon suite may have been an honest mistake, but everything he did after, most certainly wasn't.

[DiabLOL]

I really think the only thing that would have been acceptable to Shane was for the German couple to get kicked out of “his” Pineapple Suite immediately. Nothing else would have placated him.

I have a really bad feeling about the BLM a guy. I think he was faking the wrong door thing. 
 

The Tanya Belinda situation has me worried. It reminds me of all the times I’ve known someone like her. My theory is she ends up in the box either by fucking over Belinda or something happens with the BLM guy.

I think Mike White’s deal is queering normie genres. You think you’re watching the Love Boat but you’re really not. He takes his time.

[aghst]

3 hours ago, DiabLOL said:

I really think the only thing that would have been acceptable to Shane was for the German couple to get kicked out of “his” Pineapple Suite immediately. Nothing else would have placated him.

Maybe but Armand is recklessly poking the bear.

Any guest could get him in trouble but he's actively trying to provoke a guest who's shown that he won't let things go.

Yes of course the drugs are causing him to get out of control.  He must have gotten in trouble from drugs before his sobriety but he doesn't care.

I don't know how lucrative the job is.  Maybe he doesn't have as much to lose, though you'd think a manager at a large Hawaiian resort would have a lot to lose financially.

[Paws]

Isn’t Armand sexually harassing/assaulting his employee? As much as I can’t stand Shane, his dickishness doesn’t violate anyone’s safety or endanger their employment. Armand’s behavior does. It’s really disgusting. If it were a female employee maybe people would see that more clearly. I’m also willing to concede that I may have missed a line or two of dialogue that explains that it was fully consensual but he propositioned the guy in his workplace office, got him high as hell and now is manhandling the crap out of him, so I’m not sure how it could be consensual.

 

 

[dmc]

1 hour ago, Paws said:

Isn’t Armand sexually harassing/assaulting his employee? As much as I can’t stand Shane, his dickishness doesn’t violate anyone’s safety or endanger their employment. Armand’s behavior does. It’s really disgusting. If it were a female employee maybe people would see that more clearly. I’m also willing to concede that I may have missed a line or two of dialogue that explains that it was fully consensual but he propositioned the guy in his workplace office, got him high as hell and now is manhandling the crap out of him, so I’m not sure how it could be consensual.

 

 

I would say harassing not assaulting.  Technically his advances are inappropriate due to the power dynamic.  But the employee consented so not assault.  
 

I also think Armand probably has been suspended or something at work before. He acts like someone who had one last chance 

Edited August 3, 2021 by dmc

[Catfi9ht]

1 hour ago, Paws said:

Isn’t Armand sexually harassing/assaulting his employee? As much as I can’t stand Shane, his dickishness doesn’t violate anyone’s safety or endanger their employment. Armand’s behavior does. It’s really disgusting. If it were a female employee maybe people would see that more clearly. I’m also willing to concede that I may have missed a line or two of dialogue that explains that it was fully consensual but he propositioned the guy in his workplace office, got him high as hell and now is manhandling the crap out of him, so I’m not sure how it could be consensual.

 

 

I agree. I'd say at the minimum, it's coercion because Dillon wasn't receptive to anything Armond was suggesting until Armond offered time off, preferential shift treatment, and the ketamine.

[dmc]

2 minutes ago, Catfi9ht said:

I agree. I'd say at the minimum, it's coercion because Dillon wasn't receptive to anything Armond was suggesting until Armond offered time off, preferential shift treatment, and the ketamine.

This and maybe I read the scene wrong.  But I wasn’t even sure this guy was necessarily gay.  It was almost like there was a certain amount of drugs needed to go through with it.  Then Armand is like finally.  

[Catfi9ht]

22 minutes ago, dmc said:

This and maybe I read the scene wrong.  But I wasn’t even sure this guy was necessarily gay.  It was almost like there was a certain amount of drugs needed to go through with it.  Then Armand is like finally.  

I read that the same way and also thought the ketamine offer was the tipping point.

[peachmangosteen]

Yea, that scene is what really pushed me over the edge into thinking Armond is a piece of shit. I wasn't a fan before but I could see some good there but nah he's disgusting.

Is this show's point to say that all people, rich and poor, are shitty?

[dmc]

30 minutes ago, Catfi9ht said:

I read that the same way and also thought the ketamine offer was the tipping point.

Yep prostitution for drugs was the vibe. 

3 minutes ago, peachmangosteen said:

Yea, that scene is what really pushed me over the edge into thinking Armond is a piece of shit. I wasn't a fan before but I could see some good there but nah he's disgusting.

Is this show's point to say that all people, rich and poor, are shitty?

it’s HBO so it’s possible there is no point 🤷‍♀️
but they all seem pretty shitty except Belinda 

even that guy that Paula told about her friend seemed like a hookup with Olivia was imminent 

[peachmangosteen]

2 minutes ago, dmc said:

but they all seem pretty shitty except Belinda 

I think Belinda and Quinn both seem decent. The fact that Quinn isn't more horrible when he's a product of that family is astonishing. I also think Tanya is possibly a good person at the core at least. 

[dmc]

1 minute ago, peachmangosteen said:

I think Belinda and Quinn both seem decent. The fact that Quinn isn't more horrible when he's a product of that family is astonishing. I also think Tanya is possibly a good person at the core at least. 

Yes agreed.  I forgot about Quinn. Tanya isn’t a bad person per se just oblivious. I wouldn’t say she’s malicious.  
 

[Catfi9ht]

3 minutes ago, dmc said:

it’s HBO so it’s possible there is no point 🤷‍♀️
but they all seem pretty shitty except Belinda 

even that guy that Paula told about her friend seemed like a hookup with Olivia was imminent 

This show seems to skim the surface of trying to make a point about something, but I don't think the story spends enough time in one place to develop a sort of theme...yet. I'm still trying to reserve judgment until I've watched the entire season.

Although, I think it's a bad sign I'm starting to be glad it's only a 6 episode season. 

[dmc]

Just now, Catfi9ht said:

This show seems to skim the surface of trying to make a point about something, but I don't think the story spends enough time in one place to develop a sort of theme...yet. I'm still trying to reserve judgment until I've watched the entire season.

Although, I think it's a bad sign I'm starting to be glad it's only a 6 episode season. 

My interest is the opacity.  It’s difficult to tell what is going on and that has me enthralled.  I’m not invested in the people or the plots. 

[txhorns79]

15 hours ago, Cosmocrush said:

 

As far as the dinner cruise goes, Shane didn't pay for that either and really what was the cost?  Faking compassionate (or at least patience) for a couple hours?  Shane is an entitled dick who treats people he feels are beneath him like hell.

I mean, Armond purposefully offered the cruise to Shane expecting it would go badly since Tanya was going to be on board as well, so I do think Shane's anger over that is pretty justified whether he paid for it or not.  Mind you, I also think Shane is a huge jerk and he would have been much better served had he let this go and written it off as perhaps a humorous memory of a honeymoon going badly.  His seeming happiness at catching Armond engaged in a sex act with an employee (as he would now have something that would likely get Armond fired) was kind of gross. 

[Nellise]

12 hours ago, dmc said:

He did he lied. It wasn't the same rate.  He also lied and said Shane had rented that room and not the Pineapple Suite.  Then he tells someone in the staff Shane booked the Pineapple Suite and he made a mistake. He apologized that Shane was disappointed for Shane's own misunderstanding

 

Armond also lied and said the German couple was leaving a later day than they actually were to make it seem like Shane couldn't switch rooms at all during the stay. This was all before Armond had the drugs so it can't even be blamed on that.

[khyber]

12 hours ago, chocolatine said:

Agree with all of this, and also want to add that the staff at upscale resorts deals with customers like Shane all the time (he's a jerk, but not exceptionally so for a man of his social class), and it's part of their job to de-escalate such situations. Armand is doing the opposite. Double-booking the honeymoon suite may have been an honest mistake, but everything he did after, most certainly wasn't.

I once had a guest call down to the front desk to complain that "the ocean was too loud". 🤡  Of course, he was in an ocean-front room.  All I could do was offer to move him to another room once one became vacant (we were fully booked at the time).  He decided to tough it out and stay in his room.

[dmc]

4 minutes ago, khyber said:

I once had a guest call down to the front desk to complain that "the ocean was too loud". 🤡  Of course, he was in an ocean-front room.  All I could do was offer to move him to another room once one became vacant (we were fully booked at the time).  He decided to tough it out and stay in his room.

I had skylight had too much light

 

Should I retire to the roof and drape it with a tarp, madam?

Edited August 3, 2021 by dmc

[chocolatine]

4 minutes ago, khyber said:

I once had a guest call down to the front desk to complain that "the ocean was too loud". 🤡  Of course, he was in an ocean-front room.  All I could do was offer to move him to another room once one became vacant (we were fully booked at the time).  He decided to tough it out and stay in his room.

Some people have it really tough! 🤣

[MerBearStare]

1 hour ago, khyber said:

He decided to tough it out and stay in his room.

Not all heroes wear capes.

[wendyg]

I find it amusing that the luau performance has changed very little since 1969 - at least, the luau performance set in that year of MAD MEN (Season 6 opener) has almost all the same elements.

As someone who reads mystery novels, I find this interesting because we don't even know who got killed. The setup also reminds me of the Maggie Smith-Diana Rigg-Peter Ustinov movie of Agatha Christie's EVIL UNDER THE SUN.

[cpcathy]

I am really enjoying this show, but I really want to find out who is in the coffin. I would binge the whole series if it was a Netflix show.

[Cosmocrush]

1 minute ago, cpcathy said:

I am really enjoying this show, but I really want to find out who is in the coffin. I would binge the whole series if it was a Netflix show.

Ha!  Me too.  Considering how miserable Shane looked  at the airport I'm guessing it's either his mother or his wife.   Maybe the mother killed Rachael? 

[cpcathy]

I’m thinking Rachel just leaves him, and that the body is either Armond from an overdose or a Steve Hahn from a scuba accident. Or Jennifer Coolidge fell off a boat!

[Cosmocrush]

46 minutes ago, cpcathy said:

I’m thinking Rachel just leaves him, and that the body is either Armond from an overdose or a Steve Hahn from a scuba accident. Or Jennifer Coolidge fell off a boat!

I hadn't thought of that but I can see any of that happening.  We know that the only reason Shane would be so miserable is if it affected him but maybe it's just that Rachael left him.  I hope so. 

[BC4ME]

1 hour ago, Cosmocrush said:

Ha!  Me too.  Considering how miserable Shane looked  at the airport I'm guessing it's either his mother or his wife.   Maybe the mother killed Rachael? 

I was thinking the other way around. Rachael kills Shane's mother.

[chocolatine]

57 minutes ago, WatcherUatl10 said:

Do we know what Paula's deal actually is?

I can't figure it out, and I wonder whether it's bad writing or deliberately vague with a big reveal coming, like maybe she's part of a formerly influential Latin American family who had to flee their home country due to a dictatorial regime. She definitely doesn't carry herself as "inferior" to the Mossbachers in any way, and is not intimidated by their status.

50 minutes ago, cpcathy said:

Or Jennifer Coolidge fell off a boat!

I wouldn't be surprised if BLM guy pushes her. After a whirlwind courtship that culminates in marriage.

[AzureOwl]

4 hours ago, WatcherUatl10 said:

And the notion that Olivia could have "stolen" a guy from her just makes me think that the casting department did not communicate with the writers.

I would attribute that more to a miscommunication with the wardrobe department, because they seem to be doing everything in their power to obfuscate the fact that Sydney Sweeney's body is just as impressive as Alexandra Daddario's. 

At first I thought it was because she's supposed to be playing a high school aged character and they were trying not to sexualize her too much, but now I'm pretty sure Olivia and Paula are supposed to be college sophomores, so that's not it. 

[Milburn Stone]

12 hours ago, Catfi9ht said:

This show seems to skim the surface of trying to make a point about something, but I don't think the story spends enough time in one place to develop a sort of theme...yet.

I feel the show does have a theme, which could be summed up: Rich people will find a way to make themselves miserable even in the middle of friggin' paradise. Every guest in the story seems to be doing a bang-up job of it, in his or her own way.

As for Paula, my assumption is she's really smart and got into the same college as Olivia based on her brains, not her family's wealth. (The latter way could be how Olivia got in.) That's only a guess, but in the absence of information, we fill in the gaps as we will.

 

 

[Bulldog]

What exactly was Armand's endgame with the fake business card?  Did he really think Shane wouldn't call the number?  Is his plan just to keep Shane running around in circles until he leaves?  

And the more I think about it, the more I'm convinced that the body in the coffin is Armand.  After the ending tonight, I think Shane really turns up the screws and torments Armand going forward.  Armand snaps and overdoses.  Rachel finally says enough and files for an immediate divorce.  Shane has a brief moment of self awareness as he looks out the window and realizes that it all happened because of his dickishness (is that a word, I'm going to say that it is).  And no offense to Cornell grads, but isn't Cornell widely considered to be the least impressive of the Ivies?  (Again, no aspersions being cast.  I went to a state school, myself.) 

Kai is 100% playing Paula.  I'd bet good money that with every rotation of guests, he picks a doe eyed college girl to give his "our land was taken" sob story.  If she has the smug superiority that is unique to college age girls. all the better.  And for all her high and mighty protesting, she doesn't seem to have the good sense to realize that she is one of the rich (or at least rich adjacent) that the luau show is designed to entertain.  I really like the idea somebody mentioned above that Paula steals the $75K bracelets and gives them to Kai.  

While I'm usually against violence, I really wish somebody would just smack Olivia upside the head.  Her parents obviously did a shitty job raising her.  When she was grilling her father about what he knew about Paula, I was so wishing that he would have said "I know that we're paying her way for this vacation, and that she doesn't seem to mind sponging off of us, and it seems the only way you can have a friend is if there is a financial incentive in it for them."  But alas, he did not.  As much as I dislike Shane and Armand, I really think Olivia is worse than either. 

Why would Mark tell Quinn he had cheated on Nicole?  Why wouldn't Quinn (who doesn't seem to be dumb) not have known to keep that info to himself?  I really think the whole point of mentioning the bracelets and the cost goes back to the theory about Paula & Kai mentioned above. 

I don't really think BLM guy was playing Tanya.  He clearly really was a guest as his key did open the room next door.  I'm embarrassed to admit  that I've actually tried to enter the wrong hotel room myself on more than one occasion. I do think that he will become the focus of Tanya's attention and she will lose interest in Belinda's business plan after getting Belinda's hopes up. 

Poor Rachel.  Her honeymoon from hell continues.  My brother has a mother in law who can only be described as a cross between Marie Barone and Lucille Bluth, and even she would not have tried to pull this stunt. 

Edited August 4, 2021 by Bulldog

[AzureOwl]

1 hour ago, Milburn Stone said:

As for Paula, my assumption is she's really smart and got into the same college as Olivia based on her brains, not her family's wealth. (The latter way could be how Olivia got in.) That's only a guess, but in the absence of information, we fill in the gaps as we will.

I wouldn't assume that just because she's a c***, that Olivia is dumb or only capable of getting into college though money/connections. It is a sad reality of the world we live in that a person can be extremely smart and extremely competent in their chosen field, but also be an absolute nightmare of a human being to be around.

Case in point, what recently came to light abut how Joss Whedon runs his shows/movies. The man has created may of my favorite pieces of fiction ever, but the way he treats his actors is apparently beyond toxic. Just look up Charisma Carpenter's account if you're in for a disappointment. 

23 minutes ago, Bulldog said:

What exactly was Armand's endgame with the fake business card?  Did he really think Shane wouldn't call the number?  Is his plan just to keep Shane running around in circles until he leaves?  

At this point I don't think he is thinking all that rationally. Or he thought that with his mother present, he would be too distracted to remember that he'd asked for the card. Recall that he didn't actually intended to give it to him, Shane had to ask for it again during dinner, so his Plan A was probably to play dumb and not give him anything, and the fake card was a Plan B in case he insisted.  

[txhorns79]

46 minutes ago, Bulldog said:

 

While I'm usually against violence, I really wish somebody would just smack Olivia upside the head.  Her parents obviously did a shitty job raising her.  When she was grilling her father about what he knew about Paula, I was so wishing that he would have said "I know that we're paying her way for this vacation, and that she doesn't seem to mind sponging off of us, and it seems the only way you can have a friend is if there is a financial incentive in it for them."  But alas, he did not.  As much as I dislike Shane and Armand, I really think Olivia is worse than either. 

I feel like a lot of Olivia's attitude issues would be solved by threatening her financial security.  She is openly disrespectful towards her parents, and I don't know why they tolerate that.

 

49 minutes ago, Bulldog said:

Why would Mark tell Quinn he had cheated on Nicole?  Why wouldn't Quinn (who doesn't seem to be dumb) not have known to keep that info to himself?  I really think the whole point of mentioning the bracelets and the cost goes back to the theory about Paula & Kai mentioned above.

I agree.  There is no reason for Quinn to be told about something that personal between his parents.  It wasn't his business, and if they wanted to bring out Mark and Nicole's marital problems, there were ways to do that which would make more sense. 

[Paws]

Just rewatched it and I noticed that Shane’s mom repeatedly mentions that she doesn’t remember anything from the wedding. So I’ve decided that somehow Rachel,slipped her a mickey prior to the wedding, did something nefarious like stole the family tiaras, and now plans to leave Shane, and somehow she ends up murdering the motherinlaw (who is the body in the coffin) and skipping town with Kai who was there to rip off Nicole’s family.

[Cheezwiz]

13 hours ago, wendyg said:

The setup also reminds me of the Maggie Smith-Diana Rigg-Peter Ustinov movie of Agatha Christie's EVIL UNDER THE SUN.

Oooh, I love that movie! Such fun! Peter Ustinov was my favourite Hercule Poirot. 

Yes, this series is a big suspense set-up. Not a "who-done-it", but a "who's gonna bite it". I'm leaning toward Molly Shannon as the MIL from Hell!

[BC4ME]

8 hours ago, Bulldog said:

I don't really think BLM guy was playing Tanya.  He clearly really was a guest as his key did open the room next door.  I'm embarrassed to admit  that I've actually tried to enter the wrong hotel room myself on more than one occasion. I do think that he will become the focus of Tanya's attention and she will lose interest in Belinda's business plan after getting Belinda's hopes up. 

I agree. I went back and watched that scene carefully at the time and he did really look like he was innocently trying to get into the wrong room. If he knew she was coming and did it, he sure pulled it off well, the way it's shown to us. Then I was waiting for him to actually put his key in his real room and get in as confirmation that yes, he was at least well off enough to have that room. He wasn't lying about that. So IDK with this show but either they did a good job of faking us out, or he's only there in the plot to distract Tanya from poor Belinda's plan to start a business with her. But it's set up to go a lot of different ways that may surprise us.

The whole Shane/Armond business shows us a lot about both characters on its own. But I'm struck by how much Shane really needs the distraction of being pissed at Armond to keep from actually having to interact with Rachael. Like the one scene where she was trying to engage him in conversation at a meal and Shane clearly wanted a way out so he went back to his "happy place" of trying to get even /fight with Armond over Armond just trying to screw him over in any way possible. Armond seems to want Shane to realize he's messing with him.  He likes the power. And Shane seems to really need to be messed with to bring out his inner assholeness -- his true self. I'm not saying he's not right to be mad. Just that it's his nature to find reasons to be mad to avoid being a real person in a relationship.

[preeya]

9 hours ago, Paws said:

Just re-watched it and I noticed that Shane’s mom repeatedly mentions that she doesn’t remember anything from the wedding. So I’ve decided that somehow Rachel,slipped her a mickey prior to the wedding, did something nefarious like stole the family tiaras, and now plans to leave Shane, and somehow she ends up murdering the mother-in-law (who is the body in the coffin) and skipping town with Kai who was there to rip off Nicole’s family.

I predicted the "Rachel kills Kitty" murder after the first episode. Your theory seems plausible.

[BingeyKohan]

I felt like Kai was being professionally stand-off-ish (while still warm and friendly) to Olivia, in contrast to how he must have been with Paula, regardless of which one actually initiated their connection. Possibly because he already knows Olivia's MO from Paula but I took it to mean he actually felt a sense of connection to Paula that he didn't with Olivia (and wouldn't have regardless of the context from Paula) -- he can spot a "slumming" tourist when he sees one. My fear is that the bracelet theft hinted in the previews will be random but Olivia, in her jealousy, will spin it that it must have been Kai, tipped off by Paula. Of course to avoid being seen as a total vindictive b*tch she will pretend to give Paula the benefit of the doubt that she probably told him about the bracelet value innocently and Kai is the one who spotted the opportunity. (Meanwhile it will be revealed to be someone else - maybe Molly Shannon, a secret klepto, who blacks out on the same drugs she was taking at her son's wedding! That's a joke, but the rest of the spec is mostly serious.)

This is superficial but I don't know why they dress Paula in ratty looking, shapeless t-shirts! they don't even have the appearance of cool vintage tees. 

I hold out hope for 2 positive developments: Quinn will stay behind in Hawaii when his family leaves. And Tanya will surprise us by actually making good on her funding offer to Belinda. 

Part of me thinks the body is going to be Mark's - partially because Nicole is sort of based, I think, on Sheryl Sandberg, and she did suffer the loss of her husband. I think Olivia told Kai they were there for another week, which seems to extend past the point of the body being shipped back to the mainland, though of course if someone dies I'm sure the vacation prematurely ends!

[Jazzhands]

I think the body in the box is probably Kitty's.  Kitty is so obsessed with Shane that I can't imagine her leaving Shane to fly home alone if Rachel either died or left him. 

I don't know if Rachel kills Kitty and is in a Hawaiian jail or just leaves Shane, but that's the only reason that would make sense to me to have Shane returning from his honeymoon alone without his wife or his honeymoon-crashing mother. 

[Catfi9ht]

13 hours ago, Milburn Stone said:

I feel the show does have a theme, which could be summed up: Rich people will find a way to make themselves miserable even in the middle of friggin' paradise. Every guest in the story seems to be doing a bang-up job of it, in his or her own way.

As for Paula, my assumption is she's really smart and got into the same college as Olivia based on her brains, not her family's wealth. (The latter way could be how Olivia got in.) That's only a guess, but in the absence of information, we fill in the gaps as we will.

 

 

That doesn't apply to Tanya though. She's not miserable like the others; she's grieving, and even then, her grief only surfaces occasionally. Otherwise, she does seem to try to enjoy her surroundings.

[BingeyKohan]

1 hour ago, Jazzhands said:

I think the body in the box is probably Kitty's.  Kitty is so obsessed with Shane that I can't imagine her leaving Shane to fly home alone if Rachel either died or left him. 

I don't know if Rachel kills Kitty and is in a Hawaiian jail or just leaves Shane, but that's the only reason that would make sense to me to have Shane returning from his honeymoon alone without his wife or his honeymoon-crashing mother. 

I just don't think this is *that* kind of show. Kitty mentioned she was en route to meet up with a friend in Hawaii so even if Shane had marital distress and Rachel left him I think she'd still proceed on to that. I can see her supporting him through the sort of light, low-stakes drama of tormenting Armand but when the emotional lifting got heavy she'd probably send him home (the way I suspect she probably sent him to boarding school). 

[Jazzhands]

7 minutes ago, BingeyKohan said:

I just don't think this is *that* kind of show. Kitty mentioned she was en route to meet up with a friend in Hawaii so even if Shane had marital distress and Rachel left him I think she'd still proceed on to that. I can see her supporting him through the sort of light, low-stakes drama of tormenting Armand but when the emotional lifting got heavy she'd probably send him home (the way I suspect she probably sent him to boarding school). 

I read Kitty's "trip with a friend" as just an excuse to crash Shane's honeymoon, probably because my ex-MIL was planning to do the same thing until her husband stopped her. 😉

[BingeyKohan]

1 minute ago, Jazzhands said:

I read Kitty's "trip with a friend" as just an excuse to crash Shane's honeymoon, probably because my ex-MIL was planning to do the same thing until her husband stopped her. 😉

Ha! I honestly can't decide. I take them as New York types so that is a hella long flight for the kind of popover she claimed it was, whether she is actually meeting her friend or not.

[chediavolo]

On 8/2/2021 at 1:38 PM, meep.meep said:

Since I'm a Fed and always have a knee jerk reaction to the term BLM, I'm glad they put that in.

I don't know how old the actor is but Quinn looks like he's 17 going on 35.  There is a couch in his parents bedroom.  Did anyone suggest that he sleep there?

The music is really starting to bug me on this.

Poor kid is balding already. 

[preeya]

38 minutes ago, chediavolo said:

I don't know how old the actor is but Quinn looks like he's 17 going on 35.  There is a couch in his parents bedroom.  Did anyone suggest that he sleep there?

IRL Fred Hechinger is 21 years old.

[tennisgurl]

I cannot even contemplate my response if my mother in law showed up at my honeymoon, even if it was just to "stop by and say hi" and then my new husband being totally cool with it. I really want to know what Rachel was really thinking when she decided to marry Shane, I cant imagine that any of his behavior is a total shock to her. I guess she was blinded by his superficial charm and money? She looks more and more like a deer in headlights every time the show focuses on her, like its only now hitting her that she willingly hitched herself to this asshole and his pain in the neck rich family. 

I tend to side with Armond in his hate on for Shane, because Shane is pretty punchable, but he has basically created every one of his problems on his own, going back to him doubling down on his lie to Shane about his room. Shane would have still totally thrown a fit when he realized that he got double booked, but maybe it wouldn't have gotten so personal. I guess it comes down to his relapse, but now its turned into some kind of weird power play between him and Shane that I do not see ending well for him. Shane continues to be the worst, even when it makes totally valid points he is still such a massive prick you cant root for him. I did laugh at Shane's face when he caught Armond with the waiter guy, he looked like a kid who just found out that he can open his Christmas presents early. As well as the "we have the rest of our lives to fight" line. 

Olivia is such a brat, I don't even know if she and Paula are even actual friends. Is Paula just around her for free trips? Is Olivia just friends with Paula because she likes lording her wealth over someone else (as its implied that Paula's family isn't quite as wealthy) and wants a friend who's a woman of color just so she can feel cool? Of course she goes after Kai the second she can after seeing him with Paula, she cant stand Paula having something that she doesn't have. Olivia is the friend who has everything damn it.

Quinn has unexpectedly become one of my favorite characters and is so far one of the more likable guests. I like the little bits of character growth he is getting and that he seems to be the only guest who is actually enjoying the island and its experiences, watching the whale, engaging with the guys in the canoe, he is actually taking advantage of this paradise, unlike everyone else who are too busy being neurotic and petty to enjoy everything around them. I also feel bad that he's stuck in the middle of his dads freak out, getting WAY too much information about his families dysfunction. Also that his dad didn't even know that his only friend moved away two years ago, and his mom is way more interested in using him to justify her "white men are the true prosecuted minority now" hot takes than actually engaging with him. Like, don't feel too bad that Mark never asks about you Paula, clearly he never asks his own kids about their lives either. 

I hope that Belinda keeps that business plan handy for when Tanya is distracted by the next shiny thing, like a guy from BLM (not that one) who wants to wine and dine her.   

Edited August 4, 2021 by tennisgurl

[wendyg]

15 hours ago, Bulldog said:

And no offense to Cornell grads, but isn't Cornell widely considered to be the least impressive of the Ivies?  (Again, no aspersions being cast.  I went to a state school, myself.) 

 

Cornellians certainly don't think so! Cornell is definitely a little *different* from the other Ivies, though. For one thing, out of the eight colleges on the Ithaca campus, four are state-funed (Agriculture, Human Ecology, Industrial & Labor Relations, and the Veterinary school), and four are privately endowed (Arts & Sciences, Engineering, Hotel and Business Administration, Law, and Art, Architecture, and Planning). So what snobbery there is about Cornell is more directed at the state schools, certainly not at Arts & Sciences.  Really, though, it's just envy. Harvard students don't have the opportunity to learn tractor-driving and silage-shoveling, and they certainly don't get to take courses in artificial insemination, as my pre-vet roommate did.

It's always very interesting to me who went to Cornell - it's had some very quirky graduates, and I think that's partly because of having a much more varied population of students. And one other thing: Cornell gives no honorary degrees. Anyone who has a Cornell degree earned it the hard way. A lot of alumni are very proud of that.

Edited August 4, 2021 by wendyg

[CarpeFelis]

14 hours ago, Paws said:

Just rewatched it and I noticed that Shane’s mom repeatedly mentions that she doesn’t remember anything from the wedding. So I’ve decided that somehow Rachel,slipped her a mickey prior to the wedding, did something nefarious like stole the family tiaras, and now plans to leave Shane, and somehow she ends up murdering the motherinlaw (who is the body in the coffin) and skipping town with Kai who was there to rip off Nicole’s family.

Exactly what Jade (her character in season 1 of Why Women Kill) would do!

2 hours ago, Jazzhands said:

I read Kitty's "trip with a friend" as just an excuse to crash Shane's honeymoon, probably because my ex-MIL was planning to do the same thing until her husband stopped her. 😉

YIKES! I bet that’s part of the reason she’s an EX-MIL instead of a current one.

[Nellise]

3 hours ago, tennisgurl said:

I tend to side with Armond in his hate on for Shane, because Shane is pretty punchable, but he has basically created every one of his problems on his own, going back to him doubling down on his lie to Shane about his mom. Shane would have still totally thrown a fit when he realized that he got double booked, but maybe it wouldn't have gotten so personal.

This is why it's all on Armond. Shane had let it go by the time he asked for help setting up a romantic dinner with Rachel. Shane was perfectly nice asking for help. It's not out of the ordinary to ask for help as a guest for things like that, especially at a resort. It's what a concierge would normally do, but this hotel seems to have 4 people working at it, so it's Armond's job too. It was only after Shane realized Armond screwed him over again that he got angry again.

[BC4ME]

It just occurred to me that Nicole is a good example of somebody who has cognitive empathy but not emotional empathy. Cognitive empathy because she can understand why someone is feeling the way they do but no emotional empathy in that she can't actually connect with the person about their problems, even while she gives a very detailed and accurate reason for how she thinks they feel. Narcissists can have this problem. They set it up perfectly.

Edited August 5, 2021 by BC4ME