S01.E01: Horseback Riding in American Falls

[Scarlett45]

Quote

Description TBD

Air Date: October 6, 2022

Keep posts related to what happened IN the episode. No spoilers or discussion of future episodes. 

[Armchair Critic]

I am a little younger than Jan (have a sibling her age), was raised in a strict religious home and went to a Christian school affiliated with the church. I was sheltered, my mom was a stay at home mother who was a bit naive, and dad didn’t talk much about feelings back then. I am telling you this because I call bullshit on Jan’s excuse that “it was a different time back then”. No, your parents were negligent and selfish and should have been watching out for you, don’t blame it on the times.

[Scarlett45]

Anna Pacquin a very strong actress, in the scene with the sandwich I could feel how desperate she was for B’s attention and affirmation. She seems like a very lonely, unfulfilled and unhappy woman. Which is scary how someone like B can sniff that out, how their “closeness” was shot in the kitchen window reflection was amazing. 

I know. Even if they never thought B would hurt Jan, he could’ve been hurt himself (like a car accident). 
 

I have also like seeing Lio Tipton, I remember when they were on ANTM and enjoyed them in some other work they have done. The part of Gail has to be played just so. Makes sense B would marry a woman like Mary-Ann. The way she was staring while Mary-Ann was on the phone with the police. The tension in her JAW. Seems Bob was the only one acting somewhat reasonably, but he should’ve put his foot down as the patriarch and called the police!

Jake Lacey, playing B, is so damn slimy and smug!

There’s a thing called “affinity bias”, the more someone is “like you” the more likely you are to gravitate to them. B was able to earn this couple’s trust because he was a member of their church etc. 

[Avaleigh]

My mom said there's no way that her parents would have been conned by this guy. To be fair though, she grew up in an LA suburb and her family probably wasn't as sheltered as Jan and her family are.

My personal opinion is that a big part of how B was able to weasel his way into their lives so easily is because they were all part of the same church. If he'd been say Catholic B. Flanagan or B. Fernandez they wouldn't have been as trusting. B and his family being LDS made them feel safe. They talked themselves into thinking that B and his family were just like them. Same love of family, same values, same social status, etc. All that being said, that doesn't let them off the hook for being terrible parents who have to bear the responsibility for the fact that they did not protect their daughter from a predator. Not putting in a missing persons report that very evening was beyond being negligent. 

It's very hard to see Anna Paquin in this role. I feel like she usually plays smart characters and seeing her just repeatedly dropping the ball because B stroked her character's ego a little bit is hard to watch. Even though I know how this story goes I kept half expecting her to snap out of it and realize what a creep this guy is. 

The scene in the kitchen should have set off all the alarm bells. He won't take no for an answer. He goes around one parent in the hope that he'll get a different answer from another parent. Like a child trying to get away with something. Why aren't they wondering why he's pushing this so hard?

Then you have B's wife not mention the fact that her husband mysteriously comes home during the day and takes a bag with him. Why would she not mention that? She obviously didn't give a shit about Jan, she was just worried that her house of cards was going to fall down. She knew something was wrong with her husband and kept making excuses for him. 

The other thing that was so nuts to me was how they're all eating dinner the same night Jan hasn't returned home. I get feeding the kids but she and the husband should have been *doing* something. Instead they're just sitting there admittedly worried, but being totally inactive. At this point they know their daughter is missing and is alone with a man who was so desperate to take her riding that he went around the wishes of her parents to not take her out that day. 

[Snazzy Daisy]

In the premiere, Jan introduces herself and makes a point that it was a different time.

It’s kinda sad and pathetic that she feels the need to defend her parents who let the big bad wolf into their house TWICE.

[chocolatine]

Was it really normal in the 70s for parents to let a male family friend take their pre-teen daughter to an activity that none of the man's children are involved in? Is that an LDS thing? I know present-day Jan said in the beginning that "those were different times," but how did B's insistence to take Jan horseback riding after her father said no not raise a million red flags? And B's wife taking Jan's mother to the storage unit and conveniently forgetting the key, then being all shady about involving the police, should have raised red flags as well. (As should the story of B trying to "adopt" a Mexican girl who had a living mother.)

The acting is very good, but the characters are driving me crazy, so I don't know if I'll keep watching.

[Cinnabon]

9 hours ago, chocolatine said:

Was it really normal in the 70s for parents to let a male family friend take their pre-teen daughter to an activity that none of the man's children are involved in?

Absolutely not in mine.

[Adeejay]

I don't care what "present-day" Jan says.  Her parents were stupid morons.  They allowed that man to do what he did; they should have been arrested.  

[Cinnabon]

1 hour ago, Adeejay said:

I don't care what "present-day" Jan says.  Her parents were stupid morons.  They allowed that man to do what he did; they should have been arrested.  

Her parents should have been arrested? For what? 

[Scarlett45]

14 hours ago, chocolatine said:

Was it really normal in the 70s for parents to let a male family friend take their pre-teen daughter to an activity that none of the man's children are involved in? Is that an LDS thing? I know present-day Jan said in the beginning that "those were different times," but how did B's insistence to take Jan horseback riding after her father said no not raise a million red flags? And B's wife taking Jan's mother to the storage unit and conveniently forgetting the key, then being all shady about involving the police, should have raised red flags as well. (As should the story of B trying to "adopt" a Mexican girl who had a living mother.)

The acting is very good, but the characters are driving me crazy, so I don't know if I'll keep watching.

I would say no.

If the man invited Jan to come along with he and his boys, that wouldn’t have raised any alarm bells to me, but B was so damn EAGER to take Jan, BIG alarm bells would’ve been going off. When one parent said “no” and he kept asking, alarms should’ve been ringing “breaking social rules here, why???!”

[TipseyGirl]

And they allowed this guy to administer unknown "medication" to their daughter? MORONS!

16 hours ago, chocolatine said:

Was it really normal in the 70s for parents to let a male family friend take their pre-teen daughter to an activity that none of the man's children are involved in? Is that an LDS thing? I know present-day Jan said in the beginning that "those were different times," but how did B's insistence to take Jan horseback riding after her father said no not raise a million red flags? And B's wife taking Jan's mother to the storage unit and conveniently forgetting the key, then being all shady about involving the police, should have raised red flags as well. (As should the story of B trying to "adopt" a Mexican girl who had a living mother.)

The acting is very good, but the characters are driving me crazy, so I don't know if I'll keep watching.

You may want to pass on the documentary on this story, too. Jan's idiotic parents are absolutely infuriating in their stupidity.

[Adeejay]

3 hours ago, Cinnabon said:

Her parents should have been arrested? For what? 

Accessory after the fact. They had an inkling of what he was really like and yet, they allowed their 12 year old daughter to go off alone with him.

[Cinnabon]

2 hours ago, Adeejay said:

Accessory after the fact. They had an inkling of what he was really like and yet, they allowed their 12 year old daughter to go off alone with him.

Yeah, I don’t think it works that way.

[Adeejay]

2 hours ago, Cinnabon said:

Yeah, I don’t think it works that way.

Too bad, because those two morons deserve to suffer.

[EdnasEdibles]

On 10/9/2022 at 12:15 AM, chocolatine said:

Was it really normal in the 70s for parents to let a male family friend take their pre-teen daughter to an activity that none of the man's children are involved in? Is that an LDS thing? I know present-day Jan said in the beginning that "those were different times," but how did B's insistence to take Jan horseback riding after her father said no not raise a million red flags? And B's wife taking Jan's mother to the storage unit and conveniently forgetting the key, then being all shady about involving the police, should have raised red flags as well. (As should the story of B trying to "adopt" a Mexican girl who had a living mother.)

The acting is very good, but the characters are driving me crazy, so I don't know if I'll keep watching.

The only thing I can compare it to is that there was a priest at my school who took kids camping all the time. You can probably guess how that story ends. Parents allowed it because he was respected within the church. But they weren't official trips or anything like that. Just "Father Creepy is going to take three boys camping this weekend." and the parents were like "oh how fun!"  He did this at one school before coming to mine and I know someone whose brother was on the trip and her brother talks about how one morning when they woke up one of the boys was hysterical sobbing and wouldn't calm down and they had to cut the trip short to take him home and he was never quite the same after that. The priest came to my school soon after that. There are a number of boys who graduated around me who struggle with drug abuse and addiction. More than average. I can only imagine why. 

I even asked my dad "You heard the rumors about him, why on EARTH did you allow him to be around the kids? Why didn't you all march up to the principal's office and say that you'd pull your kids out if he goes anywhere near them" and he was like "Well, they were only rumors, we didn't know for sure . . ." and this was the 1980s. 

Religion and community respect does messed up things to people. 

[Scarlett45]

11 minutes ago, EdnasEdibles said:

The only thing I can compare it to is that there was a priest at my school who took kids camping all the time. You can probably guess how that story ends. Parents allowed it because he was respected within the church. But they weren't official trips or anything like that. Just "Father Creepy is going to take three boys camping this weekend." and the parents were like "oh how fun!"  He did this at one school before coming to mine and I know someone whose brother was on the trip and her brother talks about how one morning when they woke up one of the boys was hysterical sobbing and wouldn't calm down and they had to cut the trip short to take him home and he was never quite the same after that. The priest came to my school soon after that. There are a number of boys who graduated around me who struggle with drug abuse and addiction. More than average. I can only imagine why. 

I even asked my dad "You heard the rumors about him, why on EARTH did you allow him to be around the kids? Why didn't you all march up to the principal's office and say that you'd pull your kids out if he goes anywhere near them" and he was like "Well, they were only rumors, we didn't know for sure . . ." and this was the 1980s. 

Religion and community respect does messed up things to people. 

I am very sorry to hear about what happened to those boys. 

(bolding mine) Yes, humans are social animals, and STATUS means a lot. B had a lot of status given he was a member of their church, a married father, a part of their same social group. They assumed because he was of their community he was following the same "rules" they were. I think Bob Broberg is kind of a passive guy, not hyper masculine or a leader and probably was a little in awe of B. Mary-Ann seemed to love his attention and he was playing her like a fiddle. 

A priest or teacher or family friend taking a group of kids somewhere does not ring alarm bells to me. I think it's important for kids to have adult role models that aren't necessarily biological relatives, the importance of community and all that. But if the parents say NO and the adult insists.....(((ALARM BELLS))). Also 1:1 time is very different than a group event, or inviting a child along with your other similarly aged children. 

I am not surprised or upset that the Brobergs trusted B initially, these types are SMART and predators, SMOOTH operators, and all the kids liked him too. But when he started over stepping big social boundaries, and then DID NOT COME BACK, I was with Bob, shit is not adding up!

[Shermie]

This just started airing here, and I feel bad for Jake Lacy, since he portrays a smarmy creep so well. Not something to brag about, I guess.

Many have asked if parents were really that stupid and trusting back then, and I’d say yes. As others have pointed out, if it’s someone from church or a family member or friend, it’s difficult for people to think of them as being a creep. How many times have we heard stories from abuse victims who said they told their parents about the Scout leader/teacher/priest/Uncle Bob, but it was brushed aside with “you must have misunderstood/led him on/he would never do that.”?

I will concede that this case is weirder since he was so insistent on taking Jan and only Jan, and against her father’s wishes. 

And on a shallow note, Jan’s hair is just hideous. I don’t recall anyone having that weird style back then. Maybe it’s because her ears are so large, the style just doesn’t suit her.

[methodwriter85]

On 10/18/2022 at 9:09 AM, Shermie said:

And on a shallow note, Jan’s hair is just hideous. I don’t recall anyone having that weird style back then. Maybe it’s because her ears are so large, the style just doesn’t suit her.

It's based on the real Jan. I think she was trying to go for Carol Brady's season 3 hair and it didn't suit her.

Then again, people could argue it didn't suit Florence Henderson either. LOL

Edited October 20, 2022 by methodwriter85

[Shermie]

Jan Brady never had a shag haircut, and Carol Brady’s ears don’t stick out through the hair like they’re trying to pick up satellite tv. It’s a terrible cut even when it suits the face (like Carol/Florence), but on this kid it’s seriously unfortunate.

[pasdetrois]

On 10/10/2022 at 11:27 AM, Scarlett45 said:

Yes, humans are social animals, and STATUS means a lot. B had a lot of status given he was a member of their church, a married father, a part of their same social group.

Based on my experience growing up in conservative (fundamentalist Christian) communities. status is one of the reasons things go awry in those communities. Priests, preachers, deacons, bishops, etc. (and their spouses) are mini-gods and rarely challenged. If a church member challenges that authority, throw 'em out, or shame 'em publicly. Reward group mind-think and the sheep mentality with praise, inclusion, and singular special treatment. The environment is bona fide cult-like, according to professional definitions of cults. It's traumatic for many.

Predators and abusers thrive in this environment. I know several men whose parents were flattered that their boys were singled out for solo camping trips with church members who had status - sexual predators who masqueraded as youth pastors, Sunday school teachers, or choir leaders. My relative complained to her pastor that her husband - a deacon - was beating her regularly, and the pastor told her to "stop making him mad."

I can barely watch this series because of Jan's parents' willful determination to make excuses for Brother B and failure to act successfully to protect her from him. It still goes on - witness the Duggars' protection of their sexual predator son.

Edited November 5, 2022 by pasdetrois

[Lukeysboat]

On 10/20/2022 at 11:05 PM, Shermie said:

Jan Brady never had a shag haircut, and Carol Brady’s ears don’t stick out through the hair like they’re trying to pick up satellite tv

When merhodwriter85 said the cut was based on the real Jan, I think she meant Jan Broberg. Not the character Jan Brady. 

[Mother of Odin]

On 10/8/2022 at 2:58 PM, Avaleigh said:

My mom said there's no way that her parents would have been conned by this guy. To be fair though, she grew up in an LA suburb and her family probably wasn't as sheltered as Jan and her family are.

My personal opinion is that a big part of how B was able to weasel his way into their lives so easily is because they were all part of the same church. If he'd been say Catholic B. Flanagan or B. Fernandez they wouldn't have been as trusting. B and his family being LDS made them feel safe. They talked themselves into thinking that B and his family were just like them. Same love of family, same values, same social status, etc. All that being said, that doesn't let them off the hook for being terrible parents who have to bear the responsibility for the fact that they did not protect their daughter from a predator. Not putting in a missing persons report that very evening was beyond being negligent. 

It's very hard to see Anna Paquin in this role. I feel like she usually plays smart characters and seeing her just repeatedly dropping the ball because B stroked her character's ego a little bit is hard to watch. Even though I know how this story goes I kept half expecting her to snap out of it and realize what a creep this guy is. 

The scene in the kitchen should have set off all the alarm bells. He won't take no for an answer. He goes around one parent in the hope that he'll get a different answer from another parent. Like a child trying to get away with something. Why aren't they wondering why he's pushing this so hard?

Then you have B's wife not mention the fact that her husband mysteriously comes home during the day and takes a bag with him. Why would she not mention that? She obviously didn't give a shit about Jan, she was just worried that her house of cards was going to fall down. She knew something was wrong with her husband and kept making excuses for him. 

The other thing that was so nuts to me was how they're all eating dinner the same night Jan hasn't returned home. I get feeding the kids but she and the husband should have been *doing* something. Instead they're just sitting there admittedly worried, but being totally inactive. At this point they know their daughter is missing and is alone with a man who was so desperate to take her riding that he went around the wishes of her parents to not take her out that day. 

On 10/9/2022 at 1:15 AM, chocolatine said:

Was it really normal in the 70s for parents to let a male family friend take their pre-teen daughter to an activity that none of the man's children are involved in? Is that an LDS thing? I know present-day Jan said in the beginning that "those were different times," but how did B's insistence to take Jan horseback riding after her father said no not raise a million red flags? And B's wife taking Jan's mother to the storage unit and conveniently forgetting the key, then being all shady about involving the police, should have raised red flags as well. (As should the story of B trying to "adopt" a Mexican girl who had a living mother.)

The acting is very good, but the characters are driving me crazy, so I don't know if I'll keep watching.

You need to remember that this is a dramatization. 

[methodwriter85]

On 11/15/2022 at 1:16 PM, Lukeysboat said:

When merhodwriter85 said the cut was based on the real Jan, I think she meant Jan Broberg. Not the character Jan Brady. 

It's he, and yeah. Jan Broberg had that shag haircut.

[Lukeysboat]

9 hours ago, methodwriter85 said:

It's he, and yeah. Jan Broberg had that shag haircut.

Oops! My apologies, Method. 

[Armchair Critic]

On 11/18/2022 at 8:25 AM, Mother of Odin said:

You need to remember that this is a dramatization. 

I watched both documentaries and heard it straight from Jan and her family's mouth, they did let "B" take Jan alone without her sisters or family.

[CrystalBlue]

So far in just this episode 1, I found Bob Broberg to want to be the man of the house, the alpha male if you will, but he was undermined by his wife who was easily swayed by B's manipulations.  I was hoping they would send Gail home and then immediately call the police to report their daughter missing taken by B.  I don't know how this story unfolds as this is the first time I've heard of this case, so it will be interesting to see the breakdown of the Brobergs in finding Jan after that first evening.  At this point, I would say that Gail is also manipulative and that Mary Ann was a bit naive.