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S04.E14: Life is What Happens


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Jazmin's wedding has the Coterie crew all in their feelings; Luca is inspired to create change for the unhoused; one relationship ends while another rekindles; Isabella faces new issues with her parents.

Air date: August 4, 2022

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Isabella has a recording of her father saying he will press charges against her if she doesn't give her baby up for adoption. Plus the earlier text messages. That is blackmail, right? Surely she can report him to the cops as well. I feel like they could have used Callie in this episode to give legal advice.

Lots of romance in this episode, for everyone except poor Kelly. And we got to see everyone in the Coterie, and no Bulk Beauty. That's a big plus, even if I don't care about Gael's sister's wedding.

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8 hours ago, KaveDweller said:

Isabella has a recording of her father saying he will press charges against her if she doesn't give her baby up for adoption. Plus the earlier text messages. That is blackmail, right? Surely she can report him to the cops as well.

The cops would not care about this. People press charges only if they want to and the reasons why they do or don't do are not a criminal matter. Of course, this is soapy TV so anything goes but if he presses charges against her, she will get some sort of punishment and his blackmail would not get anywhere.

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I hate that they are turning Gael into the savior of Isabella. It's gross. It's male rescuer vs needy female. This show is getting more and more sexist trope driven every week.

I didn't see a plot about Luca deciding to work for the unhoused this week, as the description promises. And isn't he already part of the group that was protesting the sweep being planned by Malika's boss in a previous episode? 

Sumi and Alice are almost as juvenile as the Bulk Beauty group. Sumi quitting last week right in front of a possible booking, and Alice not even talking to Sumi about her worries and just going behind her back... and then this week cooking up some stupid BS instead of talking directly... they aren't capable of adult relating. And Sumi and Mariana both use a baby voice for no reason. 

Are there any adult women on the writing team for this show?

Davia pouts. Dennis is serious about a woman who he just met and they are talking about having a baby and he hasn't even told her anything about himself, including apparently what happened to his son (his glance at the wall implies The Secret). They deserve each other in the most dysfunctional way possible. 

And what was Gael's sad, constipated look when he was being asked if he's serious about Isabella in the beginning of the episode, repeatedly? We never heard what he was thinking, there was never any explanation, just a sudden declaration when Isabella freaked out.

Honestly, the break up between Malika and her monogamous girlfriend was fairly realistic, though. I've seen that happen multiple times IRL, pretty much just like that. But looking everywhere for someone who walked away saying she needed to be alone is bad behavior.

I hate that Luca is being made the keeper of secrets for All The Sad Ladies. He and Gael can join a club for Patriarchal Tropes. They can call it Stereotypical Fantasies of Men Who See Women as Weak and Themselves as Stoic, Heroic, and Burdened, Anonymous.

Kelly is a rude bitch and sad because of her own bullshit behavior. Are we supposed to be moved by her aggressive obnoxiousness being a cover up for insecurity?

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I can't remember which episode it was in, but in a previous episode thread there was some discussion of whether Malika's stories are an accurate description of poly relationships, and I think that the dissent might be because different people practice polyamory in different ways.

What I see in her stories seems fairly accurate (within the margins of accuracy for any TV portrayals of any subject, which is to say... imperfect but believable enough). But I also know other people who don't follow her patterns at all. This article describes some different types of polyamory. It admits that it's not exhaustive and definitive, but it outlines several different approaches.

I thought it might interest viewers who are wondering what to make of her stories and the controversy in the previous thread where this was mentioned.

https://www.lgbtqnation.com/2022/08/7-types-polyamorous-relationships-know/

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13 hours ago, circumvent said:

The cops would not care about this. People press charges only if they want to and the reasons why they do or don't do are not a criminal matter. Of course, this is soapy TV so anything goes but if he presses charges against her, she will get some sort of punishment and his blackmail would not get anywhere.

Right, but my point was blackmail is also a crime so it seems like she could press charges. 

Her father is powerful enough that he is probably friends with the cops, but she could try.

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Trying to force her to give up her baby is the kind of thing you'd think would garner her some sympathy. I thought her parents were going to sue for custody, claiming she and Gael are unfit parents. But they don't want the baby.

She's just wrong, though, not to tell Gael about what has been going on. He has no idea about the blackmail video.

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10 hours ago, possibilities said:

I can't remember which episode it was in, but in a previous episode thread there was some discussion of whether Malika's stories are an accurate description of poly relationships, and I think that the dissent might be because different people practice polyamory in different ways.

What I see in her stories seems fairly accurate (within the margins of accuracy for any TV portrayals of any subject, which is to say... imperfect but believable enough). But I also know other people who don't follow her patterns at all. This article describes some different types of polyamory. It admits that it's not exhaustive and definitive, but it outlines several different approaches.

I thought it might interest viewers who are wondering what to make of her stories and the controversy in the previous thread where this was mentioned.

https://www.lgbtqnation.com/2022/08/7-types-polyamorous-relationships-know/

I don't remember which episode either but I am one of the people who said it was unrealistic. I admit I don't know much about polyamory but my complaint is that they just decided that the character would all of a sudden be poly, and there was no real introduction to the subject. In this episode, at least, Malika said she was exploring polyamory, something the writers should have included in the beginning of the plot.

6 hours ago, KaveDweller said:

Right, but my point was blackmail is also a crime so it seems like she could press charges

I don't think the type of pressure the father put on Isabella would be considered a crime. I think the whole story was just to add to the already overdramatic relationship those two have

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If the suit is because of her beating the hell out of the car, I'd think the result could be that she has to pay for the damages, rather than sending her to jail. The extenuating circumstances would be that they were trying to force her to give up her baby, which she didn't want to do. So people would sympathize with her, to some extent, and not consider her a randomly violent maniac. Maybe she has to go to anger management also.

However, I suspect there is more to the story than just the outburst with the car. 

It's hard to say, though. TV often has people behave irrationally and go from zero to 9 million and act out. On another show, someone threatened a car with a baseball bat and not only did the person whose care it was press charges, but she totally forgave him and then married him. I mean... TV logic isn't always reality-based.

I just don't think the show wants to send her to jail long term. They've invested too much in her character and the show likes to touch on issues like prison reform, but not park there for an extended amount of time. Too gritty for the soap.

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2 hours ago, possibilities said:

So people would sympathize with her, to some extent, and not consider her a randomly violent maniac. Maybe she has to go to anger management also.

It can go so many ways. Ultimately, it is up to the prosecutor but I looked it up and I can draft many scenarios the writers can use

"Under California Penal Code 594, when a person vandalizes, defaces, destroys, or damages property with malicious intent, they will likely be charged with malicious mischief. If the amount of the damage is $400 or more, vandalism is punishable by up to one year in county jail and a fine of up to $10,000.

The possible penalties of malicious mischief include:

Less than $400 of damage: imprisonment of up to one year or a fine of up to $1,000;

More than $400 but less than $10,000: imprisonment in the county jail of up to one year or a fine of up to $10,000;

More than $10,000: imprisonment of up to one year or a fine of up to $50,000.

In addition to the charges mentioned above, the following circumstances can change or impact the charges:

Type of property (religious institution, hospital, etc. ;)

Owner of property (family member, stranger, law enforcement, etc. ;)

Price of property destroyed;

Intent (accidental, malicious, hate crime, etc.)"

What would be interesting would be to contrast the justice system when it comes to race and class. While a lot of cases are dealt with with plea deals and jails are overcrowded, and very few people actually spend any time behind bars, a lot of (mostly) black people  go to prison because they cannot afford bail, or cannot pay fees ending up in torture chambers like Rikers. It is the main reason why people who are released from prison on probation end up going back in - they cannot pay debts

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The police arresting a pregnant, pretty, white woman would get a lot of attention. Add in that she was being blackmailed by her dad to give up her baby........

Does Rich Daddy really see this ending well for him?

Edited by Wizardpatch
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Why does Isabella's evil father even care if Isabella has a baby at this point? They don't seem to have anything to do with each other anymore, how does it even affect him? Just control? He hates the idea of her having a baby no matter what because it could cause him embarrassment? I just don't care that much, Isabella came onto this show to become a human drama bomb, and now she exists to be a perpetually crying damsel for Gael to save, unless she's almost getting him fired. 

No Bulk Beauty and very little spawn ranch, so that's a good thing at least, I always like when the whole cast is in one place. Some nice moments with the wedding, I liked the cover of Havana that they used when Jasmine walked down the aisle. 

Romance for everyone this week, except for Kelly. Maybe if she wasn't such a jerk, she would do better in the romance department? I just wish Dennis and Davia would get it together or not, I liked them so much when the show first started but now I find them so tedious. 

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On 8/6/2022 at 11:01 AM, possibilities said:

If the suit is because of her beating the hell out of the car, I'd think the result could be that she has to pay for the damages, rather than sending her to jail. The extenuating circumstances would be that they were trying to force her to give up her baby, which she didn't want to do. So people would sympathize with her, to some extent, and not consider her a randomly violent maniac. Maybe she has to go to anger management also.

However, I suspect there is more to the story than just the outburst with the car. 

Based on some comments from the father in previous episodes, I think Isabella has had similar outbursts of violence in the past. That would explain why the father is so convinced she is unfit to be a mother and cares about Isabella having a kid when she's not asking him for support.

Plus it fits with Isabella being labeled as crazy when she first showed up.

However, he is still an asshole for how he is going about it.

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