S02.E04: Jesus, Allison

[PrincessPurrsALot]

Quote

Allison decides to throw a surprise birthday party for Patty; Kevin agrees to help with the planning once he realizes he can use the situation to his advantage; Tammy is left in charge of the invite list, which maybe wasn't Allison's best idea.
 

Streaming on 2022.09.05

Network original air date 2022.09.12

[Aileen]

I’m so lost at the least scene. Was that video from the night at the gas station? Why would Tammy be looking for that footage?

[Spartan Girl]

So now Sam is in on it? I wouldn't trust him…

[Cranberry]

8 hours ago, Aileen said:

I’m so lost at the least scene. Was that video from the night at the gas station? Why would Tammy be looking for that footage?

She had mentioned the weird pill bottle had been bothering her, as that was the only oxy in town not from the pharmacist. Perhaps she tracked it to the trucker and tracked him to that Vermont gas station.

[Cranberry]

Something interesting I've noticed this season (it was very apparent because I just rewatched season one): The sitcom scenes are becoming less vibrant, more washed-out.

Living room:

Kitchen:

Allison is more comfortable being mean to Kevin, too. In this episode alone, she said, "Only took 10 years of marriage, but you're finally useful to me" (Kevin: "Excuse me!?") and told him to shut up.

Additionally, the house is looking messier even in the sitcom version, and they still haven't fixed the closet door Neil broke in the season one finale.

Seems like the real world is starting to bleed over into the sitcom world.

In other news, someone on Reddit pointed out that Diane has a bloody eye later in the episode, from after she went home to her husband. Yikes.

[Spartan Girl]

4 hours ago, Cranberry said:

In other news, someone on Reddit pointed out that Diane has a bloody eye later in the episode, from after she went home to her husband. Yikes.

I was hoping she would have been able to get away for good, but the show has to reinforce Allison’s over the top schemes. Sigh…

[racked]

5 hours ago, Cranberry said:

Something interesting I've noticed this season (it was very apparent because I just rewatched season one): The sitcom scenes are becoming less vibrant, more washed-out.

Living room:

Kitchen:

Allison is more comfortable being mean to Kevin, too. In this episode alone, she said, "Only took 10 years of marriage, but you're finally useful to me" (Kevin: "Excuse me!?") and told him to shut up.

Additionally, the house is looking messier even in the sitcom version, and they still haven't fixed the closet door Neil broke in the season one finale.

Seems like the real world is starting to bleed over into the sitcom world.

In other news, someone on Reddit pointed out that Diane has a bloody eye later in the episode, from after she went home to her husband. Yikes.

Such an interesting observation. I hope that means we get to see more of “real” Kevin too. I read another poster’s recap of all the horrible things he’s done, and they are horrible. He’s not someone anyone would want to be around. But still not seeing what’s keeping Allison from leaving him. She keeps saying it would take years to divorce him but that’s just for things to be finalized. She’d be away from him long before then. Anyway I still hope the show can make this feel…justified. 

[Spartan Girl]

Tammy did have a good moment telling Allison that her former partner was a guy just like Kevin and she didn’t judge Allison for cheating on him with Sam. 

Neil continues to wake up and see the Matrix when Diane told him flat-out that the jokes weren’t finally to anyone except him and Kevin. Looks like Neil doesn’t think they’re funny anymore either.

[Avabelle]

Is the actress playing Patty of Asian descent? 

Tammy is not a great actress. 

[AllyB]

17 hours ago, racked said:

Such an interesting observation. I hope that means we get to see more of “real” Kevin too. I read another poster’s recap of all the horrible things he’s done, and they are horrible. He’s not someone anyone would want to be around. But still not seeing what’s keeping Allison from leaving him. She keeps saying it would take years to divorce him but that’s just for things to be finalized. She’d be away from him long before then. Anyway I still hope the show can make this feel…justified. 

Other than the first meeting in his office, the PI has been in hiding because Diane left and he blames the PI. It was also mentioned, even in this episode that he's still in hiding from Chuck. It's been pretty obvious that Chuck is an extremely dangerous, violent man if a PI is in hiding because he was known to have met his wife before she left him. I'm honestly not sure how anyone took from how we learned Diane left that it was anything encouraging for Allison. It was immediate reenforcement for her about how dangerous it can be for a lot women when they leave their husbands. In fact, leaving your husband (or boyfriend) is usually the most dangerous time for an abused woman. It's as she is trying to leave or immediately afterwards that she is statistically most likely to be murdered.

It's actually pretty scary to me that other people aren't seeing the clear abuse from Kevin. We've even seen signs that the abuse is physical before from when he threw sauce on her when she tried to dress up before going out. The door thing was also, almost certainly not an accident, 'women who walk into doors' is a pretty common euphemism for abused women.

[Semiglued]

4 hours ago, AllyB said:

Other than the first meeting in his office, the PI has been in hiding because Diane left and he blames the PI. It was also mentioned, even in this episode that he's still in hiding from Chuck. It's been pretty obvious that Chuck is an extremely dangerous, violent man if a PI is in hiding because he was known to have met his wife before she left him. I'm honestly not sure how anyone took from how we learned Diane left that it was anything encouraging for Allison. It was immediate reenforcement for her about how dangerous it can be for a lot women when they leave their husbands. In fact, leaving your husband (or boyfriend) is usually the most dangerous time for an abused woman. It's as she is trying to leave or immediately afterwards that she is statistically most likely to be murdered.

It's actually pretty scary to me that other people aren't seeing the clear abuse from Kevin. We've even seen signs that the abuse is physical before from when he threw sauce on her when she tried to dress up before going out. The door thing was also, almost certainly not an accident, 'women who walk into doors' is a pretty common euphemism for abused women.

Except it’s not “clear.” What you described is inferred. Nothing has been made clear. Most of us have speculated and wondered if that’s the case, but it certainly has not been made clear. Which, if that’s what the show is going to end up showing us, I’m sure will be the point. But odd that she’d have so many discussions with Patty about wanting to kill him and there’s not even a glimmer of a mention btwn them of what really goes on.

I don’t think viewers will be shocked if that’s what happens but I also don’t think people should be judged for not being certain at this point. 

[Avabelle]

22 hours ago, Semiglued said:

don’t think viewers will be shocked if that’s what happens but I also don’t think people should be judged for not being certain at this point. 

Agreed, I don’t think any of it’s clear and I don’t think it will be until we finally see Kevin out of the sitcom as he really is.

[possibilities]

Neil is terrible. And it's not only because he's pissed off about the "Allison wanted to kill Kevin" situation. You don't get to be friends with Kevin without being terrible, but this episode showed Neil was always terrible. He's been taking Patty to the rink every year and she doesn't like or enjoy skating. He always buys her nachos that burn her mouth. There's nothing fun about this. And apparently no one ever threw a party for her, so even though Neil is a party kind of guy, and apparently (per an earlier episode) Patty takes care of him a lot, he never bothered to do anything for her. Yes, he's starting to get burned out on the dynamic with Kevin, but Neil is not a nice guy or in any way sympathetic either.

Tammy strikes me as a very recognizable type. I don't think the problems with her character are bad acting. She seems very authentic to me, very believable. I still don't understand her relationship with Patty, which continues to seem utterly devoid of chemistry or affection or enthusiasm or any other kind of signs of connection. But taken on her own, or even in her scenes with Allison, she seems perfectly credible.

I do think it's really bad how hostile she is to Allison. She wants to know what Allison wants from Patty, and she wants her to distance herself from the friendship. Does she ask Patty what she likes about Allison? Does she have even a slightly open mind about her? And why does she think it's bad for Patty to have a friend? It's throwing red flags all over. It's not a normal reaction. It's a scary degree of jealousy and possessiveness. 

I don't even think Allison is that bad for Patty, to be honest. Patty was selling oxy before she and Allison became friends. Her problems in life are not all caused by Allison or getting involved in Allison's issues. Allison is not the greatest influence, but she's actually more considerate and decent to Patty than Neil and Kevin, who appear to be the only people Patty had in her life before, outside of clients.

I have to wonder why Patty is so cut off and isolated. You'd think she'd have friends. But apparently she doesn't, and never did. 

Allison is telling too many people about her plan to fake her death. That's not the behavior of someone who is really going to follow through. It's reckless. And why is Diner Guy helping her when he thinks all her ideas are crazy? I don't get him at all.

I also don't understand how the faking your death thing works. I get that she will assume the identiy of dead Gertrude. But where will she go, and how will she make a living, and does she have any money to get started with? I suppose she will look for the same kind of jobs she's been doing, but she'd still need some cash and more of a plan than just assuming the name and social security number of the dead person. She hasn't really thought this through. What is her backstory? Does Gertrude have a social media presence that will undercut Allison's ability to assume her identity and not get caught? Even if she doesn't have family, surely SOMEONE knows her. She probably has work history. Someone will report her missing when she doesn't show up to work. I don't know. I'm over thinking. But Allison is under-thinking.

Patty's life is really sad. She's as sad as Allison, but without the obvious pressure from someone trying to keep her down. I don't understand her character. I guess it's a sitcom staple, though, to have the friend who has no life and is just there as a side kick with no explanation. But it's sad.

[Spartan Girl]

Neil was a dick to Patty, but he did show some concern to Diane. Sitcomland portrays her as this pathetic gross middle-aged woman, but outside that she’s just broken down and possibly battered. She admitted to Neil that she caved and went back to her husband because it was too hard being on her own, which is a similar dynamic between Neil and Kevin right now. He’s going through the motions of Sitcomland even though his heart isn’t into it. He’s aware that his “best friend” really doesn’t give a crap about him, but he’s clinging to that reality because it’s the only thing he knows.

[Starchild]

6 hours ago, possibilities said:

I do think it's really bad how hostile she is to Allison. She wants to know what Allison wants from Patty, and she wants her to distance herself from the friendship. Does she ask Patty what she likes about Allison? Does she have even a slightly open mind about her? And why does she think it's bad for Patty to have a friend? It's throwing red flags all over. It's not a normal reaction. It's a scary degree of jealousy and possessiveness. 

I see it differently. I think Tammy's reacting to what appears to be an "unnatural" bond between Patty and Allison. Patty is in a new relationship that she professes to be committed to, this should be the "honeymoon phase", and yet she's continually blowing Tammy off to be with Allison for mundane reasons. There's a ton of red flags and it's kicking off all her police instincts. Trying to put distance between them and then observing the effects of that is a typical investigative tactic. She's trying to figure it all out. And of course she's right that there is something strange going on between them.

I will say though, I don't see the attraction in the first place. Even without all the drama with Allison, Patty's sarcastic, sad sack personality doesn't seem like something that would intrigue most people, especially at first sight.

6 hours ago, possibilities said:

I also don't understand how the faking your death thing works. I get that she will assume the identiy of dead Gertrude. But where will she go, and how will she make a living, and does she have any money to get started with? I suppose she will look for the same kind of jobs she's been doing, but she'd still need some cash and more of a plan than just assuming the name and social security number of the dead person. She hasn't really thought this through. What is her backstory? Does Gertrude have a social media presence that will undercut Allison's ability to assume her identity and not get caught? Even if she doesn't have family, surely SOMEONE knows her. She probably has work history. Someone will report her missing when she doesn't show up to work. I don't know. I'm over thinking. But Allison is under-thinking.

They were definitely discussing social media presence as a criterion for picking someone. Pretty sure Patty mentioned that Gertrude didn't have much of one, didn't appear to have any family or friends who would miss her. I don't recall if she mentioned Gertrude's employment status at all, but job abandonment happens all the time, so even if she was working, it might be an acceptable risk to assume her identity anyway.

And Allison, just use "Trudy" instead, that's cute, and it would fit. And if you never married again, once you're established in the Fronsch identity you can always get a legal name change. That would make it even harder for Gertrude's old life to catch up to you.

[possibilities]

For me, the newness of the relationship makes Tammy's hostility to Allison even worse. She hasn't had a chance to get to know her and form an opinion. She's reflexively hostile to the closeness. I know it's a joke that lesbians have a really fast ramp up to serious, but Patty and Tammy hardly know each other, they've been together all of two seconds, and Tammy is really possessive. She was in a hurry from the first date, and when Patty wanted to take it even a tiny bit slow, Tammy insulted her. It's not respectful. If a man did it, we'd say he was a jerk.

The irony of the "maybe it's her spidey sense as a detective" element is that she doesn't seem to actually suspect anything, even when she's got lots of reason. She met a room full of junkies at the party and didn't clue in.

Also, why does she like Patty so much? I'm not saying there's nothing to like, but she seemed to have no interest in getting to know her at all, and she doesn't like any of her friends, and it's just weird. If I met someone and all the people in her life were awful, I'd take a breath and wonder what I was doing. 

But I was wrong about the show before, when I thought they were deliberately showing no chemistry because Tammy was actually not really interested and was just investigating. Whoever's writing this part of the show is really far off base from anything I've seen in actual relationships between women.

[Barbarblacksheep]

13 hours ago, Starchild said:

Someone will report her missing when she doesn't show up to work. I don't know.

Gertrude? Well, she's dead, so....

Although I do remember the Patty/Allison discussion when Patty brought Gertrude up as a new identity, I'm foggy on some of the details. From what I remember, wasn't Gertrude the victim of a car crash, (in her 20s?) she died alone, she had little to no social media presence, etc. Is Allison stealing the death certificate so there won't be a record of her death (or she thinks that's the way it works, which I doubt).  I checked, and there are 4 more episodes this season and it's been confirmed that there won't be a 3rd season. Highly doubtful that the "faking her own death" thing will work, but I just have the feeling that *something* will and it will be completely accidental and/or not planned. But no telling, that's just a guess.

30 minutes ago, possibilities said:

For me, the newness of the relationship makes Tammy's hostility to Allison even worse. She hasn't had a chance to get to know her and form an opinion. She's reflexively hostile to the closeness. I know it's a joke that lesbians have a really fast ramp up to serious, but Patty and Tammy hardly know each other, they've been together all of two seconds, and Tammy is really possessive. She was in a hurry from the first date, and when Patty wanted to take it even a tiny bit slow, Tammy insulted her. It's not respectful. If a man did it, we'd say he was a jerk.

I absolutely agree with this, and I've said it before, Tammy is waaay too controlling and possessive. She even made a sarcastic comment when Patti just wanted a beer, instead of vodka,  on her birthday no less. If a man started telling me what I "should" be drinking and ordering it for me, that's a huge red flag right there, just for starters.

Edited September 14, 2022 by Barbarblacksheep

[Starchild]

6 minutes ago, Barbarblacksheep said:

wasn't Gertrude the victim of a car crash, (in her 20s?)

I think Allison mentioned that Gertrude was 10 years older than her, so around 45.

[Barbarblacksheep]

11 minutes ago, Starchild said:

I think Allison mentioned that Gertrude was 10 years older than her, so around 45.

Now that you mention it, I do think I remember that. Allison was a little miffed that her assumed identity was older than she.  I'm still vaguely remembering a "died in her 20s" reference, but I could be way off base on that.

[possibilities]

1 hour ago, Barbarblacksheep said:

Gertrude? Well, she's dead, so....

I realize I'm totally over thinking it. In my head, she gets reported missing, and a photo of her gets circulated. And Alison doesn't look like her, so....

[Starchild]

10 hours ago, Barbarblacksheep said:

Now that you mention it, I do think I remember that. Allison was a little miffed that her assumed identity was older than she.  I'm still vaguely remembering a "died in her 20s" reference, but I could be way off base on that.

I think the 20s thing was mentioned by the PI as one of the ideal criteria when choosing an identity.

[Cranberry]

Patty read out the PI's instructions:

"'White female, born between 1979 and 1991.' [SCOFFS] You think you could pass for 30?"
"Okay, the PI wrote that, not me."
"Oh! That explains why it's written in the margins of a Boston Whaler brochure. 'Little online presence, no surviving loved ones, on vaca-' On vacation?"
"Yeah, well, if she died here but was from another state, her Social Security number's probably still active."
"Ugh! On vacation in Worcester? I thought the new you couldn't get any sadder."

Gertrude:

"I found her. Born in Connecticut. Died on the Mass Pike near Grafton in a very violent pile up. No kids, no husband. ...The article about the accident only mentions her name once. No obit, not even a coworker who was guilted into doing a GoFundMe to pay for the funeral. Completely unremarkable and alone!"
"Gertrude Fronch?"
"Uh-huh."
"You want me to be someone named Gertrude Fronch? And she's 10 years older than me?!"
"Well... you look really good for your 40s."
"No, no. Not happening. Sorry."

[qtpye]

On 9/6/2022 at 4:54 PM, Cranberry said:

Something interesting I've noticed this season (it was very apparent because I just rewatched season one): The sitcom scenes are becoming less vibrant, more washed-out.

Living room:

Kitchen:

Allison is more comfortable being mean to Kevin, too. In this episode alone, she said, "Only took 10 years of marriage, but you're finally useful to me" (Kevin: "Excuse me!?") and told him to shut up.

Additionally, the house is looking messier even in the sitcom version, and they still haven't fixed the closet door Neil broke in the season one finale.

Seems like the real world is starting to bleed over into the sitcom world.

In other news, someone on Reddit pointed out that Diane has a bloody eye later in the episode, from after she went home to her husband. Yikes.

I am so glad you pointed this out. I actually thought something was wrong with my screen

On 9/7/2022 at 4:03 PM, AllyB said:

Other than the first meeting in his office, the PI has been in hiding because Diane left and he blames the PI. It was also mentioned, even in this episode that he's still in hiding from Chuck. It's been pretty obvious that Chuck is an extremely dangerous, violent man if a PI is in hiding because he was known to have met his wife before she left him. I'm honestly not sure how anyone took from how we learned Diane left that it was anything encouraging for Allison. It was immediate reenforcement for her about how dangerous it can be for a lot women when they leave their husbands. In fact, leaving your husband (or boyfriend) is usually the most dangerous time for an abused woman. It's as she is trying to leave or immediately afterwards that she is statistically most likely to be murdered.

It's actually pretty scary to me that other people aren't seeing the clear abuse from Kevin. We've even seen signs that the abuse is physical before from when he threw sauce on her when she tried to dress up before going out. The door thing was also, almost certainly not an accident, 'women who walk into doors' is a pretty common euphemism for abused women.

On 9/7/2022 at 8:58 PM, Semiglued said:

Except it’s not “clear.” What you described is inferred. Nothing has been made clear. Most of us have speculated and wondered if that’s the case, but it certainly has not been made clear. Which, if that’s what the show is going to end up showing us, I’m sure will be the point. But odd that she’d have so many discussions with Patty about wanting to kill him and there’s not even a glimmer of a mention btwn them of what really goes on.

I don’t think viewers will be shocked if that’s what happens but I also don’t think people should be judged for not being certain at this point. 

On 9/8/2022 at 7:41 PM, Avabelle said:

Agreed, I don’t think any of it’s clear and I don’t think it will be until we finally see Kevin out of the sitcom as he really is.

I totally agree that they are going to leave it unclear for a while. However, Allison's actions make no sense unless Kevin is a dangerous abusive asshole. I mean a divorce is too much trouble but assuming a whole new identity is not? She will have to get a new SS number and will not be able to apply for jobs with extensive background checks, among other things.

Allison's actions remind me of all those women who have to flee and hide because their partners will murder them and law enforcement has failed to protect them. Since Kevin seems to be popular, I can see most people in this blue-collar community looking the other way, maybe similar to Diane.

The Kevin we see is goofy but not dangerous. If Allison files for a divorce the worst thing this Kevin will do is spread lies around town that it was him that ended the marriage to spare his ego. He is a narcissistic jerk but not a psychopath.

I wonder how horrific the real Kevin actually is? I hope this series does not end with Allison dying at his hands. 

Edited September 14, 2022 by qtpye

[TiffanyNichelle]

I'm not a fan of Tammy or the Tammy/Patty relationship because it's just another case of Patty just kind of letting people walk over her and steer her into whatever direction they want. Did she want to be friends with Kevin and his dad or was she stuck hanging out with them because of Neil? Her last relationship was the pharmacist who planned out everything they did, down to even a diet. And there's Tammy who bulldozed her way into her life and her house (she just randomly showed up one day on the doorstop and was like I'm staying). The line about getting Patty to start drinking vodka because Tammy likes it instead of the beer Patty prefers stood out a lot.  Even the Allison/Parry relationship is about Allison making Patty do a lot of things she doesn't want to do and even though she complains, she still does them.

Was selling drugs to her customers the only thing she did for herself or did she get talked into it?

The one thing about Tammy though, she's the same in the "real" world and the sitcom world and in both she seems Kevin for who he really is, which I think is very interesting.

Diane's story with Chuck is a heartbreaker and a warning for Allison.

[qtpye]

7 minutes ago, TiffanyNichelle said:

I'm not a fan of Tammy or the Tammy/Patty relationship because it's just another case of Patty just kind of letting people walk over her and steer her into whatever direction they want. Did she want to be friends with Kevin and his dad or was she stuck hanging out with them because of Neil? Her last relationship was the pharmacist who planned out everything they did, down to even a diet. And there's Tammy who bulldozed her way into her life and her house (she just randomly showed up one day on the doorstop and was like I'm staying). The line about getting Patty to start drinking vodka because Tammy likes it instead of the beer Patty prefers stood out a lot.  Even the Allison/Parry relationship is about Allison making Patty do a lot of things she doesn't want to do and even though she complains, she still does them.

Was selling drugs to her customers the only thing she did for herself or did she get talked into it?

The one thing about Tammy though, she's the same in the "real" world and the sitcom world and in both she seems Kevin for who he really is, which I think is very interesting.

Diane's story with Chuck is a heartbreaker and a warning for Allison.

That's also confusing. If Tammy sees Kevin for who "he really is" then why is she not assisting Allison by getting her to a woman's shelter, asap, if he is dangerous?

Instead, we see her chuckling with amusement over Alison's affair. 

Neil scared me when he started harassing people at the rink. That guy is huge.

14 hours ago, possibilities said:

Also, why does she like Patty so much? I'm not saying there's nothing to like, but she seemed to have no interest in getting to know her at all, and she doesn't like any of her friends, and it's just weird. If I met someone and all the people in her life were awful, I'd take a breath and wonder what I was doing. 

It feels almost like a plot contrivance to make things more complicated for Alison. 

Edited September 14, 2022 by qtpye

[Starchild]

26 minutes ago, qtpye said:

I am so glad you pointed this out. I actually thought something was wrong with my screen

I'm another who noticed but thought something technical was wrong. Didn't catch on to it as a stylistic choice.

[TiffanyNichelle]

11 minutes ago, qtpye said:

Neil scared me when he started harassing people at the rink. That guy is huge.

I have noticed that when we are in the sitcom world Neil doesn't seem that much bigger but when they shoot him in the real world they frame him a such a way that he looks even bigger, He looms over everyone in a scene.

I also think Tammy resents the closeness of Patty and Allison's relationship because on the outside I don't think it makes any sense to her. The two of them don't seem to mesh. I don't know if it's just possessiveness, like Tammy wants Patty all to herself or what.

[possibilities]

That's a good point about Neil being abusive to other skaters. He wasn't just a dick to Patty, that's how he was with totally random people-- and in public, with all kinds of witnesses. He got them banned for life. Him choking Allison was not a one off anomaly, apparently. He's prone to violent outbursts in general.

And he's the "mild" one in the friend group. 

[Barbarblacksheep]

1 hour ago, qtpye said:

I wonder how horrific the real Kevin actually is? I hope this series does not end with Allison dying at his hands.

Oh yikes, I hadn't thought of that. I think there's definitely going to be a twist, but that's pretty dark. Not out of the question, though. I agree with those who think the "real" Kevin is a whole lot more violent that sitcom Kevin (the remark he made about Diane's husband finding her and then "making her see how good she had it" was pretty chilling.

Also hoping that this doesn't turn out to be some kind of dream or coma-induced delirium from Allison's "near drowning at the water park" incident that I'm semi-obsessed with. 😕

[AllyB]

On 9/8/2022 at 1:58 AM, Semiglued said:

Except it’s not “clear.” What you described is inferred. Nothing has been made clear. Most of us have speculated and wondered if that’s the case, but it certainly has not been made clear. Which, if that’s what the show is going to end up showing us, I’m sure will be the point. But odd that she’d have so many discussions with Patty about wanting to kill him and there’s not even a glimmer of a mention btwn them of what really goes on.

I don’t think viewers will be shocked if that’s what happens but I also don’t think people should be judged for not being certain at this point. 

No sorry, it's 100% clear to anyone who has any idea about how domestic abuse works. I guess anyone who doesn't see it is either very lucky or in a survival mechanism denial but in this day and age, I really don't think it's acceptable that anyone wouldn't know how to see clear signs of abuse. We can't protect abuse victims, most likely to be women, if we can't recognise all of the obvious signs of abuse. It's how abuse is still so rife.

[NoReally]

I think if I were going to fake my own death, I'd want to find a name that's less memorable than Gertrude Fronch. Isn't the idea to blend in at a new location and be as hard to trace as possible?

[possibilities]

7 hours ago, AllyB said:

No sorry, it's 100% clear to anyone who has any idea about how domestic abuse works. I guess anyone who doesn't see it is either very lucky or in a survival mechanism denial but in this day and age, I really don't think it's acceptable that anyone wouldn't know how to see clear signs of abuse. We can't protect abuse victims, most likely to be women, if we can't recognise all of the obvious signs of abuse. It's how abuse is still so rife.

To me, it's obvious. But I think it's true that there are a lot of people who have no idea how any of this works. It's strange, because DV is so common. You'd think people would know about it. But that's part of the problem. The conspiracy of secrecy, denial, minimization, excuse-making, and general pretending means that there is a split between people who know and people who don't. And that's not random. It's a deliberate strategy on the part of abusers and their enablers, to keep that wall so that they can continue to operate unimpeded.

This is why the show is genius. It speaks to people who know, validating what to us is obvious. And it draws in people who find it ambiguous, hopefully to pull the rug out from under the confusion and leave them knowing what they didn't understand before.

[Whimsy]

On 9/14/2022 at 1:31 PM, qtpye said:

Instead, we see her chuckling with amusement over Alison's affair. 

I didn’t see her chuckling at the affair. Actually, I re-watched the scene Tammy and Allison were discussing the affair and it was very serious. Here’s the transcript:

Tammy: I’ve met your husband I get it. 

Allison: Really? 

Tammy: What else are you supposed to do?

Allison: A lot of people would say I should get a divorce

Tammy: Right. Like that’s easy. I know guys like Kevin… They’re just…. You remember my partner Bram? He asked me to plant evidence for him once. He beat the hell out of some guy. known drug dealer all around scum bag but his place was clean. Bram messed up, I fixed it. Everybody knew. I don’t even know how he got me to do it. So, yeah, I don’t think you’re a bad person for cheating on Kevin McRoberts.

I bolded the part about Tammy’s partner beating up some “scum bag” because I think this also shows that Kevin is also violent. I agree with others here, and I’ve been saying it since season 1, that I think Kevin is abusive. Definitely verbally abusive since most of the “jokes” are very degrading and dismissive of Allison as an actual person. Most likely also physical. That’s what I liked about putting a spotlight (almost literally with the bright colors) on the “jokes” in the sitcom world that, once you take away the laugh track, etc, are actually very mean and demeaning. They’re put downs to break Allison down as a person and not at all funny but we’ve been conditioned to think is funny when everyone else is laughing. 

[TiffanyNichelle]

24 minutes ago, Whimsy said:

That’s what I liked about putting a spotlight (almost literally with the bright colors) on the “jokes” in the sitcom world that, once you take away the laugh track, etc, are actually very mean and demeaning. They’re put downs to break Allison down as a person and not at all funny but we’ve been conditioned to think is funny when everyone else is laughing. 

They show it as an example when Diane tells Neil how awful she felt during the scene when Kevin and his dad were talking so badly about her in the kitchen to her face. It was funny for them but not for her even with the laugh track.

[KerleyQ]

On 9/7/2022 at 7:58 PM, Semiglued said:

Except it’s not “clear.” What you described is inferred. Nothing has been made clear. Most of us have speculated and wondered if that’s the case, but it certainly has not been made clear. Which, if that’s what the show is going to end up showing us, I’m sure will be the point. But odd that she’d have so many discussions with Patty about wanting to kill him and there’s not even a glimmer of a mention btwn them of what really goes on.

I don’t think viewers will be shocked if that’s what happens but I also don’t think people should be judged for not being certain at this point. 

I've been taking the two of them never mentioning it as a fairly common thing with abuse. It's sometimes really fucking hard for the victim to admit it's happening.  If Allison specifically isn't mentioning it, Patty is taking her cues from that and not bringing it up herself, even though she probably finds it very obvious when Allison says something like "I had an accident with the door."  But, they both know it's happening, and that's why Patty keeps agreeing to go to these lengths with Allison, even though she keeps saying it's too much and she's done. No matter how much you liked a friend, you'd have sat down with them long before things got to "I'm going to fake my own death" and told her she's a dumbass for not just filing for divorce is this was just a garden variety "I'm unhappy being married to this man child," situation. 

I think both actresses play their scenes like there is some other issue beneath the surface, going unacknowledged. But, that could just be something I'm reading into it since I'm pretty sold on the "Kevin is abusive" theory. 

[monagatuna]

On 9/14/2022 at 10:31 AM, qtpye said:

Neil scared me when he started harassing people at the rink. That guy is huge.

How tall is the actor? Google was not helpful--there was speculation that he was between 5'9" (!!) and 6'3." Yet he's taller than their (admittedly tiny) refrigerator. Annie Murphy is 5'7" and Kevin is a bit shorter than her. Seeing them all standing near each other, I'd presume this guy to be between 6'3" and 6'5." Or perhaps he's a more average 5'11" to 6' and they're using camera tricks to make him seem larger and more menacing?

[possibilities]

He looms over Patty in their scenes together, too. 

[mytmo]

I just keep thinking murder suicide in regard to Kevin and Allison with Kevin being the perpetrator when the walls of sitcom land come falling down.