S04.E13: Fresh Start

[gonzosgirrl]

Didn't Maggie just get pregnant fairly easily? Like, without even trying? Was there no conversation with her doctor then about whether or not she could/should carry a baby? I get the story line in and of itself - a cancer patient concerned about their fertility - but it does seem kind of strange since she was pregnant like, last week.

[ams1001]

18 minutes ago, gonzosgirrl said:

Didn't Maggie just get pregnant fairly easily? Like, without even trying? Was there no conversation with her doctor then about whether or not she could/should carry a baby? I get the story line in and of itself - a cancer patient concerned about their fertility - but it does seem kind of strange since she was pregnant like, last week.

IIRC, at the time she wasn't that far out from chemo and it could have had a negative effect on the baby so she chose not to risk that. Now she's been off the meds and cancer free for a while but it's still best to run it by the doctor first.

[BTBAM310]

The Rome story line is so ridiculous. Him staring down the water fountain and having flashbacks was beyond cheesy - like something out of the film Crash. And I totally didn't see the old teacher being the current dean coming at all 🙄

[KaveDweller]

On 3/26/2022 at 2:37 PM, historylover820 said:

But it's going to come back that the old man will see the error of his ways, and Rome's friend will also probably confront the old man, who is his boss, over his racism. The minorities in school now will be inspired to call the old man out. But I think it'd be better to confront the old man one-on-one and letting the documentary speak for itself.

Definitely better to confront the main one-on-one. And honestly, either the old teacher has been enlightened about his old ways and is now a much better teacher to all students, or he is still racist. If it is the latter, then the current students likely know this.

On 3/26/2022 at 4:25 PM, gonzosgirrl said:

Didn't Maggie just get pregnant fairly easily? Like, without even trying? Was there no conversation with her doctor then about whether or not she could/should carry a baby? I get the story line in and of itself - a cancer patient concerned about their fertility - but it does seem kind of strange since she was pregnant like, last week.

Maggie did talk to her doctor when she got pregnant. I believe the doctor was the one who advised her to get the abortion because of the timing of when she'd gone into remission. You would think the doctor would have commented at the time about whether she had future options to have kids, or that Maggie would ask, but I guess the writers hadn't thought this far ahead.

[ams1001]

16 hours ago, KaveDweller said:

Definitely better to confront the main one-on-one. And honestly, either the old teacher has been enlightened about his old ways and is now a much better teacher to all students, or he is still racist. If it is the latter, then the current students likely know this.

Or he was never racist at all but he knew the administration wouldn't punish anyone (and he was just a lowly teacher at the time, don'cha know) so he just quietly took the sign down and didn't pursue it because it wouldn't have done any good. And he'll have a heartfelt talk with Rome who will see his whole school career in a slightly different light. Or something.

[Clanstarling]

1 hour ago, ams1001 said:

Or he was never racist at all but he knew the administration wouldn't punish anyone (and he was just a lowly teacher at the time, don'cha know) so he just quietly took the sign down and didn't pursue it because it wouldn't have done any good. And he'll have a heartfelt talk with Rome who will see his whole school career in a slightly different light. Or something.

That was kind of my take on it - as heartbreaking as it was.

[circumvent]

On 3/25/2022 at 3:24 PM, ams1001 said:

Which leads me to ask - So does D only speak French now? When did we ever see her speak French with the kids? Why would she be yelling at her mostly-English-speaking son in French?

I thought that was weird too but then I remember what show I was watching, where every single nonsensical thing is the norm for those people

[mansonlamps]

On 3/26/2022 at 3:46 PM, ams1001 said:

IIRC, at the time she wasn't that far out from chemo and it could have had a negative effect on the baby so she chose not to risk that. Now she's been off the meds and cancer free for a while but it's still best to run it by the doctor first.

Maybe I'm remembering it incorrectly,  but wasn't her diagnosis after meeting Gary a recurrence?  Meaning it is stage 4 or terminal?  TV really plays fast and loose with "cancer free" from what a I've seen. A person with a stage 4 diagnosis has more to worry about with having a baby than fertility. 

[historylover820]

9 hours ago, ams1001 said:

Or he was never racist at all but he knew the administration wouldn't punish anyone (and he was just a lowly teacher at the time, don'cha know) so he just quietly took the sign down and didn't pursue it because it wouldn't have done any good. And he'll have a heartfelt talk with Rome who will see his whole school career in a slightly different light. Or something.

That was my take on it. But, that would be the realistic route. Not what this show will do.

[Lady Calypso]

On 3/25/2022 at 3:24 PM, ams1001 said:

Which leads me to ask - So does D only speak French now? When did we ever see her speak French with the kids? Why would she be yelling at her mostly-English-speaking son in French?

This actually kind of makes sense to me. My grandmother's first language is Italian and she speaks better Italian than English, despite having lived in Canada since she was 18 years old. There are times where she'll switch to Italian because it's easier than trying to translate what she's saying to English. But when she's surrounded by Italian speakers, it's a lot harder for her to switch back and forth because Italian is the language she's more comfortable in speaking.

Despite Delilah's English being fairly good, they're living back in France, where they're surrounded by French speakers. I assume it's easier for her to default to French, especially under emotional situations. It may not be that she was just speaking solely French to Danny on the phone, but her anger caused her to default switch to French to get her point across faster. 

[Clanstarling]

On 3/29/2022 at 5:15 AM, Lady Calypso said:

This actually kind of makes sense to me. My grandmother's first language is Italian and she speaks better Italian than English, despite having lived in Canada since she was 18 years old. There are times where she'll switch to Italian because it's easier than trying to translate what she's saying to English. But when she's surrounded by Italian speakers, it's a lot harder for her to switch back and forth because Italian is the language she's more comfortable in speaking.

Despite Delilah's English being fairly good, they're living back in France, where they're surrounded by French speakers. I assume it's easier for her to default to French, especially under emotional situations. It may not be that she was just speaking solely French to Danny on the phone, but her anger caused her to default switch to French to get her point across faster. 

Same with my mother - native German speaker. Some things are untranslatable - my mom used to translate old sayings, which made sense in German but were hilarious in English.

Edited March 30, 2022 by Clanstarling

[gonzosgirrl]

On 3/29/2022 at 8:15 AM, Lady Calypso said:

This actually kind of makes sense to me. My grandmother's first language is Italian and she speaks better Italian than English, despite having lived in Canada since she was 18 years old. There are times where she'll switch to Italian because it's easier than trying to translate what she's saying to English. But when she's surrounded by Italian speakers, it's a lot harder for her to switch back and forth because Italian is the language she's more comfortable in speaking.

Despite Delilah's English being fairly good, they're living back in France, where they're surrounded by French speakers. I assume it's easier for her to default to French, especially under emotional situations. It may not be that she was just speaking solely French to Danny on the phone, but her anger caused her to default switch to French to get her point across faster. 

But we've never seen Delilah struggle with English in the least - and she's been through some pretty emotional/stressful things on the show. I think they (unnecessarily) want to hammer home that she's in France and it isn't in any way unusual that she took an infant child away from her father, abandoned a teenage daughter and didn't notice her teenage son took off for America.

Edited March 30, 2022 by gonzosgirrl

[Lady Calypso]

38 minutes ago, gonzosgirrl said:

But we've never seen Delilah struggle with English in the least - and she's been through some pretty emotional/stressful things on the show. I think they (unnecessarily) want to hammer home that she's in France and it isn't in any way unusual that she took an infant child away from her father, abandoned a teenage daughter and didn't notice her teenage son took off for America.

We've seen a couple of examples of her using the wrong words in English (I know there was a scene in season 2 with her and Sophie making fun of the word jumble, I just don't remember the context), but her second language is still English. Regardless of how she was able to learn English and be able to speak it fluently, going back to a home country can actually make things harder. Delilah immersing herself back with French speakers, it likely became very easy to slip back into that. I guess it helps that I've seen it first hand with family. 

I always have criticisms of this show and Delilah. She's a terrible mom, a shitty friend, a selfish person, etc. This is probably one of the only times I'll kind of defend the writing and the character. Don't worry; I'll go back to hating her deadbeat ass right after this. 

[gonzosgirrl]

17 minutes ago, Lady Calypso said:

We've seen a couple of examples of her using the wrong words in English (I know there was a scene in season 2 with her and Sophie making fun of the word jumble, I just don't remember the context), but her second language is still English. Regardless of how she was able to learn English and be able to speak it fluently, going back to a home country can actually make things harder. Delilah immersing herself back with French speakers, it likely became very easy to slip back into that. I guess it helps that I've seen it first hand with family. 

I always have criticisms of this show and Delilah. She's a terrible mom, a shitty friend, a selfish person, etc. This is probably one of the only times I'll kind of defend the writing and the character. Don't worry; I'll go back to hating her deadbeat ass right after this. 

My ex is French Canadian - didn't learn English until his twenties, and he would 100% curse in French (picture stubbing your toe or pinching your finger in a drawer, etc), but he never spoke to me in French (talking or yelling), even when we were in Quebec with his French-only family. I could see her insisting on French-only so that he could learn (immersion is the way to go) I just don't see it being realistic that Delilah would be yelling at her English-raised son in French in these circumstances.

[Clanstarling]

3 hours ago, gonzosgirrl said:

But we've never seen Delilah struggle with English in the least - and she's been through some pretty emotional/stressful things on the show. I think they (unnecessarily) want to hammer home that she's in France and it isn't in any way unusual that she took an infant child away from her father, abandoned a teenage daughter and didn't notice her teenage son took off for America.

 

2 hours ago, gonzosgirrl said:

My ex is French Canadian - didn't learn English until his twenties, and he would 100% curse in French (picture stubbing your toe or pinching your finger in a drawer, etc), but he never spoke to me in French (talking or yelling), even when we were in Quebec with his French-only family. I could see her insisting on French-only so that he could learn (immersion is the way to go) I just don't see it being realistic that Delilah would be yelling at her English-raised son in French in these circumstances.

When my mother was back home in her German speaking country, she would definitely default to her native tongue.  When we were there together I spoke it as well, but had to have my mom translate during a particularly emotional conversation because I wasn't quite fluent enough to rip the a** a new one in German.  I suspect she didn't translate exactly what I said, but he got the picture from my tone and left hurriedly. (family drama from the worst in-law in the family, he made my mom and aunt cry)

I find it completely realistic from my own experiences, even though I find very little in this show particularly realistic.

Edited March 30, 2022 by Clanstarling

[smartymarty]

On 3/24/2022 at 3:59 AM, SnazzyDaisy said:

I like Danny but he really needs a new hairstyle and frequent showers to get rid of all the greasiness. Forget that snowflake Milo, you can do better Danny.

Love seeing the improved dynamic between Eddie and Katherine, they do have great chemistry together. Am glad that Eddie is now happy with Anna, let them be, don’t ruin this!

Don’t care about Gina, her dad and their food truck business.

If Rome really want to get better and feel better, he needs to learn to let things go and focus on happier thoughts. This prep school arc is so lame and a several steps back in his character development.

I liked Danny's hair.

Eddie and Katherine's conversation was the only enjoyable scene of the night.
Hate the Gina-dad-food truck story. And as someone else pointed out, where's her partner?

I don't begrudge Rome still feeling pained about the school water fountain incident. I wonder if the writers were trying to subtly touch on the Critical Race Theory protests, showing how it was for black students when Jim Crow was taught -- a joke to white students, extremely painful to black students, and told to get over it by the adults.

On 3/30/2022 at 12:22 PM, gonzosgirrl said:

But we've never seen Delilah struggle with English in the least - and she's been through some pretty emotional/stressful things on the show.

Devil's advocate for Delilah -- maybe she's trying to help her kids become fluent in a second language. Not a crazy idea.

Regarding the opening Lexus scene, yeah, whenever I take an Uber/Lyft, I ask them to drop me off in the parking garage, not at the front door of the building. For those who didn't notice it was a Lexus, Lexus is a big sponsor so it's all over the show -- Rome and Regina drive a Lexus, and Jon wanted Sophie to drive his Lexus when she got her license.

[gonzosgirrl]

2 hours ago, smartymarty said:

Devil's advocate for Delilah -- maybe she's trying to help her kids become fluent in a second language. Not a crazy idea.

I agree immersion is the best, if not only way to learn another language - but maybe when your teenage son has fled the country to chase after a guy isn't the best time to not make yourself 100% clear.

Edited April 1, 2022 by gonzosgirrl

[maggiemae]

Immersing Eddie's daughter in French only is not going to go over well.

[gonzosgirrl]

11 hours ago, maggiemae said:

Immersing Eddie's daughter in French only is not going to go over well.

Since they (the writers) seem to have forgotten that Eddie is her father, we'll probably never see her again anyway.

[bybrandy]

On 3/28/2022 at 6:57 PM, mansonlamps said:

Maybe I'm remembering it incorrectly,  but wasn't her diagnosis after meeting Gary a recurrence?  Meaning it is stage 4 or terminal?  TV really plays fast and loose with "cancer free" from what a I've seen. A person with a stage 4 diagnosis has more to worry about with having a baby than fertility. 

It was a recurrence but with breast cancer a recurrence does not automatically mean stage IV/terminal.   For breast cancer stage 4 (for recurrence or for original cancer diagnosis) means the cancer has spread further away from breast like to other organs or distant lymph nodes.  A stage III cancer would be an invasive cancer that spread to the chest wall/skin/near by lymph nodes.   And while that is a serious diagnosis with a higher rate of recurrence than stage I or II cancers it is still considered curable.   

 

On 3/30/2022 at 12:26 PM, gonzosgirrl said:

My ex is French Canadian - didn't learn English until his twenties, and he would 100% curse in French (picture stubbing your toe or pinching your finger in a drawer, etc), but he never spoke to me in French (talking or yelling), even when we were in Quebec with his French-only family. I could see her insisting on French-only so that he could learn (immersion is the way to go) I just don't see it being realistic that Delilah would be yelling at her English-raised son in French in these circumstances.

I curse in southern.  No, seriously, when I get angry I go full on southern.  Peopel always comment about how I don't have a southern accent and then I get mad and they are like, "You do have a southern accent!"   

[Clanstarling]

8 hours ago, bybrandy said:

I curse in southern.  No, seriously, when I get angry I go full on southern.  Peopel always comment about how I don't have a southern accent and then I get mad and they are like, "You do have a southern accent!"   

I used to stealth curse at work - in German. But then I went to work for a German company, with tons of German employees in the US.  So, no more cursing. ☹️