S02.E05: That's Amore

[aghst]

49 minutes ago, catsitter said:

I was also thinking the house might not really belong to Quentin. We saw in a previous episode that you can rent those places by the night!

How about the yacht?

How about him staying at the WL hotel?

How about him having expensive seats at the opera?

[dmc]

36 minutes ago, DoubleUTeeEff said:

I think she is trying to cause maximum pain to Ethan. Who better to fool around with than the guy who has been an asshole to your husband all his life?

I can't believe Ethan told Harper that "she should be happy" that he didn't cheat on her even though he had the means and opportunity. He is the worst.

I cannot stand Ethan, he's the worst character to me.  Also, Ethan is a gigantic doofus. 

First, his status is not higher than Cameron's. He just has more money than Cameron.  I am not sure I would equate that to status.   At a certain point, rich is rich.  And he may be book smart but he acts like a straight up idiot most of the time. If you are friends with someone, who keeps taking your love interest...than stop being friends with them.  You don't go on a trip with them and then choose them over your wife.  And keep insisting you didn't lie.  

I think the real deal on Ethan is he's jealous.  He's jealous of Cameron's social ease and confidence.  If this is Ethan's normal personality, no wonder people went for Cameron.  You can't sit there barely communicating and have no personality and expect people to go for you. 

That being said, if I were in Harper's situation I would already feel more loyalty to Daphne and it would bother me to do that to her after she confided in me and said its hard to find real friends.  I am not saying I would call her when I got back to states to hang out constantly but I wouldn't do this.  She would at least get my loyalty for the rest of the trip.  

Also Jack is not that guy's nephew.  Its like the scene in Pretty Woman where Vivian tells Bridget that Edward isn't really her uncle and she says...they never are....

Edited November 28, 2022 by dmc

[ahpny]

33 minutes ago, DoubleUTeeEff said:

As to one couple raising kids and the other child-free, I've got to violently disagree that is a metric for a successful relationship.

Didn't mean to imply that having childs was one of those metrics of success, only that despite their differing levels of enthusiasm for extra- marital actions, they seem to be in synch more or less, whereas the Spillers are plainly not. 

[heatherchandler]

I noticed twice in this episode dead bodies were mentioned, maybe more and I just didn't pick up on it.  The first was when they are bringing in the luggage and said, "is there a dead body in here?"  I am blanking on the second...

[Traveller519]

13 hours ago, MerBearStare said:

I thought Portia looked nice in the halter dress, but good lord what was she wearing when they went out at night? I've seen a lot of talk about her clothing, but honestly, Gen Z dresses terribly (they're bringing back all the worst trends from the 90s and early aughts!), so I think the wardrobe department did an excellent job with her character.

In the late 90s I remember my parents remarking that young women's fashion of the era was "very 70s"

[MrWhyt]

1 hour ago, Irlandesa said:

I do think it's possible Quentin is trying to scam Tanya.  I do not think his plan is to try to kill Tanya for Greg.

If Quentin does have an ulterior motive I suspect it's more along the lines of a covert sales pitch for his villa. "oh it's costing me so much in upkeep I can't afford it. But it'd be a mere pittance to you and you'd be able to live amongst this beauty and go to the opera every night etc..."

[Irlandesa]

55 minutes ago, aghst said:

How about the yacht?

How about him staying at the WL hotel?

How about him having expensive seats at the opera?

He could be living off of another rich woman a la The Tinder Swindler.  He's showing her wealth so when he asks for money or a loan, she might easily give it to him since he's "good for it." There might be another Tanya out there where the tap has run dry.  I imagine that's a harder scam to run if you're gay since you can't use romance to seduce but I don't think the displays of wealth necessarily indicate having wealth.

He could have rented the villa and the yacht and I'm pretty sure he's not staying at the hotel.  I believe, in the first episode where he spoke, he mentioned coming to the hotel to hang out but he lived in the area.

[Samsnee]

I hope we are done with Tanya after this season. 

[RedDelicious]

I don't think Lucia is a career prostitute. I think she just does it for fun and to make some money because she's young and beautiful and she can. If anything, Mia seems more manipulative to me, but they're both taking advantage of people. 

As soon as Jack said he had to go do something for his uncle, the 'jig' was up. He's a gigolo.

Spoiler

I believe I read that Tanya's been renewed for Season 3, so we might assume that one of the dead bodies isn't her.

[aghst]

Lot of places that offer arancini are bars or little takeout places.

They've been prepared long time ago, they just heat them.

So they wouldn't sit down and eat just arancini, you would think.  Maybe if they had some wine or other booze as well as some charcuterie or something with it.

It is a quick meal, a couple of arancini can be filling to keep you going for a few hours.

So it's strange that they'd run out of the place without paying.  You'd order them at a counter, pay for it and they'd give it to you in a napkin or something.  Same thing for cannolis or gelato, you pay as you get the food.

[90sfan]

I also don't think Lucia has a pimp. It was a lie to get Albie to feel bad for her and pay her even though she wasn't upfront about being a prostitute. And then when she mentioned that Cameron owes her money and alluded to her pimp being upset, it was also to potentially get Albie to pay her to "save" her. I do think she sees 2 opportunities with Albie: 1. a way out of Sicily to LA 2. potential blackmail of Dominic because it would be devastating for Albie to find out that he and his father slept with the same woman.

When Harper mentioned her threesome in Puerto Rico, there was a weird pause where she looked at Ethan. To me it was a look that said she could "out" him as having been part of what was actually a foursome. When asked when this was, she also had a weird pause before saying college which led me to believe she was lying. As others have mentioned in prior weeks, I think there is something more to the Cameron/Ethan dynamic and that Ethan is potentially bi. 

[DrSpaceman73]

That opera house was gorgeous. 

[dmc]

1 hour ago, RedDelicious said:

I don't think Lucia is a career prostitute. I think she just does it for fun and to make some money because she's young and beautiful and she can. If anything, Mia seems more manipulative to me, but they're both taking advantage of people. 

As soon as Jack said he had to go do something for his uncle, the 'jig' was up. He's a gigolo.

  Reveal spoiler

I believe I read that Tanya's been renewed for Season 3, so we might assume that one of the dead bodies isn't her.

I am glad you brought up Lucia because WTF...why does she keep having sex with men without getting the $$$ money upfront.

Cameron owes her $$$

And then she slept with Albie...no mention of $$$ or expectation for him to pay.  A lot of men would have told her to eff off.

this is just not smart business.  You make the money arrangement before doing anything.

And her friend the singer...sleeping with a guy playing in a piano bar in a resort acting like he's the CEO of Record Company...I mean yes he's singing but its a piano bar if he had better contacts, he wouldn't be there. 

I want more for these women.  

Edited November 28, 2022 by dmc

[txhorns79]

10 hours ago, ZeeEnnui said:

The Valentina storyline is so cringe. I wish it wasn't a redux of the Armand plot line from season one. Maybe have Valentina fixate on this character for another reason that isn't a crush. The White Lotus hotel chain is seriously a five star HR headache starting with the front desk. 

I don't love Valentina's behavior.  In the first couple of episodes she seemed much more no-nonsense.  Now she's trying to seduce a subordinate, and letting a sex worker perform in the bar for the implied promise of sexual favors.  I get how this show works and things spin out of control, but it kind of feels like she is not the kind of person to really do any of this.  

[MrWhyt]

15 hours ago, Mr. R0b0t said:

I feel like this show has compelled people to profess outlandish theories instead of evaluating the episodes as presented. I guess for the "I told you so's"? 

i've noticed a trend of this in tv posters in general, not just this show.. People hearing hoofbeats and instead of thinking of horse, jumping past zebras to miniature unicorn ponies.

[hurrrz]

I am convinced Tanya is being conned. Q does hint at high costs and tries to sell the lifestyle a bit too much. Tanya also said something along the lines of "It's good to be around people with money, so you know they don't want yours." I think that's exactly what's happening here.

[BC4ME]

So far I like this season better than last.

[tennisgurl]

Wow, even Tanya knows that Portia's outfits are terrible. Those sneakers on the boat made my eyes hurt, and that date outfit caused me more of a jump scare than those dead bodies we saw in the first episode. Seriously though, sneakers on a boating day! Unforgivable. I guess the nephew is more of a "nephew", so now Portia and Albie have both unintentionally slept with sex workers, although at least Jack didn't ask for payment the night after. 

That guy is definitely not Lucia's pimp, he's a friend of hers playing a part so that Lucia can better be a damaged damsel for Albie to save so that she can keep his attention and keep milking him for cash. Its sad to watch, he's being so naïve and you know he's going to end up getting his heart broken. He wants so badly to be a good guy who treats women well after seeing every man in his family have affair after affair that its leaving him open to manipulation. 

Daphne was definitely trying to give Harper some rich wife advice with the picture of her kids and telling her about her trainer, it very much felt like she was responding to Harper being worried about Ethan being unfaithful with "yeah, just get used to it and have your fun on the side too." She isn't thrilled that Cameron has affairs, but she has her kids to think about so isn't interested in a messy divorce, especially if that could put a dent in her glamourous lifestyle, and she has her own affairs to meet her own needs. Its not perfect but she seems content with things. I don't think Harper will handle that sort of life though, turning a blind eye to her husband messing around while scheduling an extra session with her "trainer" though. 

Valentina is not only so bad at her job that she cant give a guest a simple suggestion for where to get a nice gift, she's officially making it weird with Isabella, who I don't think is interested in her. She's basically doing Armond's story from season one, although hopefully this one doesn't end with literally a steaming pile of shit. 

Quentin's expression when Tanya asked if that lady was the Queen of Sicily killed me dead. I'm pretty sure Quentin doesn't have an evil scheme in mind, he just wants her around for campy amusement. "...yes."

Edited November 28, 2022 by tennisgurl

[Hava]

I'm disappointed that they turned Valentina's character into a repressed, predatory lesbian who is also a misandrist. It was much more interesting when she was a no-nonsense boss who has little time for street harassment by men (not because she actually hates men (ugh) but because street harassment is actually annoying and sometimes scary), but who is genuinely moved by one of her employees giving her a compliment. 

[skotnikov]

5 minutes ago, MrWhyt said:

This isn't a whodunnit type of show, this isn't a murder mystery.

It's not whodunnit, it's correct. It's whodied kind of show, like in a soap. MW navigates his plot through basic tropes of a soap opera.   

[aghst]

Most men don't care about what Portia's wearing.

She's cute and their objective is to get her out of her clothes.

They may not recognize good fashion, they can generally tell a woman is stylish or not.  But committing a fashion crime is not a showstopper if she's attractive.

[BC4ME]

5 minutes ago, skotnikov said:

It's not whodunnit, it's correct. It's whodied kind of show, like in a soap. MW navigates his plot through basic tropes of a soap opera.   

It's not a whodunnit but it's also not exactly clear to me what it is. I love the way MW is spinning this tale. I don't know what's going to happen except apparently Daphne is spared from dying.

[shapeshifter]

9 minutes ago, tennisgurl said:

That guy is definitely not Lucia's pimp, he's a friend of hers playing a part so that Lucia can better be a damaged damsel for Albie to save so that she can keep his attention and keep milking him for cash. Its sad to watch, he's being so naïve and you know he's going to end up getting his heart broken. He wants so badly to be a good guy who treats women well after seeing every man in his family have affair after affair that its leaving him open to manipulation. 

Lucia is starting to look like a candidate for one of the dead bodies in the water from 2.1 "Ciao."
We've seen her submerged in the water during dialog at least twice. 
She's pissed off Valentina and now Albie's dad. 
She admitted to leading Mia astray.
Now Lucia is apparently taking advantage of Albie's woke-ness to scam him for as many thousands of dollars as she can get.
Lucia just can't stop doing the things she despises herself for doing. That lack of self-direction leaves her open to calamity. . . .

1 hour ago, MrWhyt said:

i've noticed a trend of this in tv posters in general, not just this show.. People hearing hoofbeats and instead of thinking of horse, jumping past zebras to miniature unicorn ponies.

. . . so my latest prognostication for the final reveal of the drowned bodies is: 🥁[drum roll]
Just as Cameron accosted Harper in the water earlier in the season when she wasn't going along with his plans, Cameron will yank on Lucia's leg when she is in the water.
[Not sure if Cameron's intent is to drown Lucia and make it look like an accident, or if he just wants to give her a talking-to to put her in her socioeconomic place.]
Cameron and Lucia struggle as happens when someone feels like they are drowning, and, as can happen even if someone is trying to save a drowning person, they both drown.
Cameron comes off as a dead hero, which is probably best for all involved, especially if he had a good life insurance policy.

Sorry, @MrWhyt, my over-active imagination has been driving folks nuts my whole life. 

[MrWhyt]

39 minutes ago, shapeshifter said:

Just as Cameron accosted Harper in the water earlier in the season when she wasn't going along with his plans, Cameron will yank on Lucia's leg when she is in the water.
[Not sure if Cameron's intent is to drown Lucia and make it look like an accident, or if he just wants to give her a talking-to to put her in her socioeconomic place.]
Cameron and Lucia struggle as happens when someone feels like they are drowning, and, as can happen even if someone is trying to save a drowning person, they both drown.
Cameron comes off as a dead hero, which is probably best for all involved, especially if he had a good life insurance policy.

Sorry, @MrWhyt, my over-active imagination has been driving folks nuts my whole life. 

see that is at least based on stuff we've seen in the show.  Contrast that to the "Greg has hired Quentin to kill Tanya" theory which presumes that:

A. Greg wants Tanya dead

2. Instead of pushing her off a cliff or arranging some other "accident" on their Vespa ride he decides to contract it out to his gay not lover from 30-40 years ago

iii. Once Quentin accepts the offer he decides the best course of action is to hang out with his target and a gaggle of witnesses. Take her out on a yacht, treat her to the opera, have her stay over and then at some point dispatch her?

Yes Greg is acting shady and may be cheating on Tanya. Obviously Quentin has kept some things hidden from her, but these do not add up to an elaborate murder plot.

Edited November 28, 2022 by MrWhyt

[Alexander Pope]

Am I the only one who is getting a kind of "My Brilliant Friend" vibe from Lucia and Mia?  they even look a bit like Lila and Lenu.  And like them they're both trying to escape.  I do remember that one of the teen girls from last season was reading Ferrante's novel at the pool.

Random observation: Michael Imperioli is just so damn good in this.  Yes there is rage but so much sadness too.  He is making the whole thing worth it for me, plus Aubrey of couse.

Edited November 28, 2022 by Alexander Pope

[Sailorgirl26]

1 hour ago, shapeshifter said:

Lucia is starting to look like a candidate for one of the dead bodies in the water from 2.1 "Ciao."
We've seen her submerged in the water during dialog at least twice. 
She's pissed off Valentina and now Albie's dad. 
She admitted to leading Mia astray.
Now Lucia is apparently taking advantage of Albie's woke-ness to scam him for as many thousands of dollars as she can get.
Lucia just can't stop doing the things she despises herself for doing. That lack of self-direction leaves her open to calamity. . . .

. . . so my latest prognostication for the final reveal of the drowned bodies is: 🥁[drum roll]
Just as Cameron accosted Harper in the water earlier in the season when she wasn't going along with his plans, Cameron will yank on Lucia's leg when she is in the water.
[Not sure if Cameron's intent is to drown Lucia and make it look like an accident, or if he just wants to give her a talking-to to put her in her socioeconomic place.]
Cameron and Lucia struggle as happens when someone feels like they are drowning, and, as can happen even if someone is trying to save a drowning person, they both drown.
Cameron comes off as a dead hero, which is probably best for all involved, especially if he had a good life insurance policy.

Sorry, @MrWhyt, my over-active imagination has been driving folks nuts my whole life. 

Except . . . wouldn't Daphne know where Cameron was? In the opening scene of Episode 1, she said they were leaving in a few hours -- if he was on the beach, he would have been with her. If he wasn't on the beach, she would know he would be in the hotel packing or having lunch with Ethan, or whatever (sneaking off to meet Lucia to pay her possibly). 

I don't see a way he would end up in the water unless he and Daphne were on the beach together and he had gone in the water for a swim before her. But she gave the impression she was there alone, and when swimming, wouldn't she have been looking for Cameron as she swam out? She was very much in her own world as she was taking that swim (I rewatched the opening scene last night). 

Perhaps Cameron struggled with Lucia (and possibly Mia -- they did say "a few" bodies) and they both went over a balcony and landed in the water, but wouldn't someone have noticed multiple people falling off a balcony? Even if no one witnessed the fall, the splash would have been noticeable. You'd think some part of that scenario would draw attention. . . 

Edited November 28, 2022 by Sailorgirl26

[Ireland77]

1 hour ago, tennisgurl said:

Quentin's expression when Tanya asked if that lady was the Queen of Sicily killed me dead. I'm pretty sure Quentin doesn't have an evil scheme in mind, he just wants her around for campy amusement. "...yes."

I think that he is somehow trying to scam her (I do not believe he is planning on killing her as a favor to Greg, his long lost hetero love from 30 years ago - that is hardly plausible).  If there was no scam, I cannot see a reason for pretending Jack is his nephew, nor can I see why Greg would allow his rent boy/boy toy/escort to fuck Portia on Greg's dime. 

Edited November 28, 2022 by Ireland77

[heatherchandler]

I am enjoying this but I am ready for some of the bodies to start bobbing up.

[peachmangosteen]

I assume there will be no bodies until the finale. It seems like no one even knew anyone had died until Daphne discovered the body in the water, which was on their last day there, so I guess no one dies until the last night/day there. Although, I guess some could die earlier and it not be noticed by anyone for a day or 2.

[Baltimore Betty]

My thought about Daphne swiming in the ocean is she does not typically do that, expensive bathingsuits, her hair is always done...like those suits and hair does not get ocean water anywhere near them and we have not seen her in the water so far have we?  Her going swimming was a ruse for her to just happen to find the bodies, that is just my two cents.

[Irlandesa]

6 hours ago, txhorns79 said:

I don't love Valentina's behavior.  In the first couple of episodes she seemed much more no-nonsense.  Now she's trying to seduce a subordinate, and letting a sex worker perform in the bar for the implied promise of sexual favors.  I get how this show works and things spin out of control, but it kind of feels like she is not the kind of person to really do any of this.  

I think the development of Valentina has been a slow progression.  I'm not sure how I'd describe her but I think it's important to look at the fact that she not only clearly has a crush on her co-worker but the way she feels the need to "protect" her from her male coworker.  Or the way she absolutely dismisses Dominic when he asked about a store or tried to get keys for the sex workers he hired.  Either she's oblivious or is actively playing dumb because she doesn't want to facilitate his relationships with the women in his life. 

She didn't want Mia or Lucia in the hotel as they were there to serve a man's sexual needs but now that Mia has openly flirted with her, she is more welcoming to her being around. 

So for her, it's about her feelings about women but I think her story is also about her feelings about men.  I know "man-hating lesbian" is an unflattering stereotype but some of the choices the writer has made with her do make me wonder if that's the outline we're getting. And in that overall picture, her choices make sense.

4 hours ago, tennisgurl said:

She's basically doing Armond's story from season one, although hopefully this one doesn't end with literally a steaming pile of shit.

It's similar but Armond was so full of resentment last season. I don't think Valentina is.  So even though both have inappropriate feelings about a subordinate, I think we're going to see it play out differently.

4 hours ago, MrWhyt said:

This isn't a whodunnit type of show, this isn't a murder mystery.

Right.  Both seasons have been a "who is it" and a "how done it."  There were a lot of theories about who died and how the person died last season but no one guessed Armond getting stabbed after defecating in the suitcase of Jake Lacy's character. 

But it's fun to speculate even if no one guesses because it's unlikely that the deaths are going to be caused by someone slipping and falling off a cliff.  It may not be a murder mystery but it's still a death mystery and is unlikely to be mundane.

2 hours ago, Ireland77 said:

If there was no scam, I cannot see a reason for pretending Jack is his nephew.

If you're talking about Quentin, not all gay men want it to be known that they've basically hired an escort for the week (or however long he has been hired for). 

Edited November 29, 2022 by Irlandesa

[shapeshifter]

1 hour ago, Sailorgirl26 said:

I don't see a way he would end up in the water unless he and Daphne were on the beach together and he had gone in the water for a swim before her. But she gave the impression she was there alone, and when swimming, wouldn't she have been looking for Cameron as she swam out? She was very much in her own world as she was taking that swim (I rewatched the opening scene last night). 

How about this:

• Lucia is in the water for whatever reason. Maybe she is even feeling a bit like literally drowning her sorrows.
• Daphne and Cameron are on the beach for one last time.
• Cameron says sees Lucia and tells Daphne he's going for one last swim.
  (Because Cameron cannot leave well enough alone.)
• Daphne sees Cameron heading towards Lucia and decides to join him.
• Daphne turns her back on the water to talk to the new arrivals.
  (It only takes seconds for a drowning to happen, and if Cameron pulls Lucia's leg like he did Harper's, the drownings could all happen unseen underwater.)

[carrps]

22 hours ago, dmc said:

Daphne definitely showed Harper her kids on purpose.  The kids flash is the universal “stay away from my man”.  Get a trainer, in other words, stay away from my husband and find a boy toy.

Eh. I don't think Harper is attracted to Cameron. She finds him as repulsive as I do. When he tried to grope her in the restaurant, she moved his hand away and scooched over in her chair as far from him as she could go.

20 hours ago, Sailorgirl26 said:

FWIW, I wondered if he was playing off Brokeback Mountain. I've never seen the movie and only know peripherally what its about, so I could be completely off base. But isn't the saying that the best lies vary only slightly from the truth. . .  so theoretically building a backstory based on a movie would be fairly easy to remember. 

Yeah, that story was so fake. Only someone as dumb as Tanya would fall for it.

3 hours ago, tennisgurl said:

That guy is definitely not Lucia's pimp, he's a friend of hers playing a part so that Lucia can better be a damaged damsel for Albie to save so that she can keep his attention and keep milking him for cash.

As others have already said, Lucia and Mia are baby hookers who just decided to do this for some, what they consider, easy cash. Alessio is not a pimp. 

1 hour ago, Baltimore Betty said:

My thought about Daphne swiming in the ocean is she does not typically do that, expensive bathingsuits, her hair is always done...like those suits and hair does not get ocean water anywhere near them and we have not seen her in the water so far have we?  Her going swimming was a ruse for her to just happen to find the bodies, that is just my two cents.

I like that. I don't think Daphne is as sweet as she acts. There's something nasty in that woodshed.

[Whimsy]

1 hour ago, Baltimore Betty said:

My thought about Daphne swiming in the ocean is she does not typically do that, expensive bathingsuits, her hair is always done...like those suits and hair does not get ocean water anywhere near them and we have not seen her in the water so far have we?  Her going swimming was a ruse for her to just happen to find the bodies, that is just my two cents.

She was in the pool, fully immersed except her head. We don’t know if the pool was fresh or salt water. 

[Evie]

Ethan's "You should be happy" was not the way to go nor was agreeing to go wine tasting with Cameron and Daphne right after admitting to taking molly and watching Cameron have sex with hookers on their couch. He doesn't know Harper at all if he thought that was a good idea, that she would just let it go. 

Lucia totally got someone to play her pimp after Albie cast her as the poor girl forced to be a hooker and mentioned that he would help if she was being threatened, etc. I think she does have a soft spot for him, but he's too easy of a mark for her to resist.

I did like the conversation between Albie's dad and grandpa.

Edited November 29, 2022 by Evie

[MCMLXXVII]

38 minutes ago, shapeshifter said:

How about this:

• Lucia is in the water for whatever reason. Maybe she is even feeling a bit like literally drowning her sorrows.
• Daphne and Cameron are on the beach for one last time.
• Cameron says sees Lucia and tells Daphne he's going for one last swim.
  (Because Cameron cannot leave well enough alone.)
• Daphne sees Cameron heading towards Lucia and decides to join him.
• Daphne turns her back on the water to talk to the new arrivals.
  (It only takes seconds for a drowning to happen, and if Cameron pulls Lucia's leg like he did Harper's, the drownings could all happen unseen underwater.)

But what’s Cameron’s motive though? Daphne (and Harper and Ethan) all know he cheats, and hiring escorts seems to be accepted behavior among his “sociopathic” peer group. He’s not a politician or a minister with a reputation to protect. Outside of a pimp (or fake pimp) to rough him up, I don’t see where Lucia can really harm him for shafting her, unless she steals Daphne’s jewelry or something as payment. The fact that his not having her money would expose him as secretly broke would be a good motive, but any $1300 charge could pop up and do that. 

[txhorns79]

2 hours ago, Irlandesa said:

I'm not sure how I'd describe her but I think it's important to look at the fact that she not only clearly has a crush on her co-worker but the way she feels the need to "protect" her from her male coworker. 

I didn't think she switched out Rocco to protect the female co-worker.  I thought she got rid of him because she viewed him as competition for her affections. 

1 hour ago, MCMLXXVII said:

But what’s Cameron’s motive though? Daphne (and Harper and Ethan) all know he cheats, and hiring escorts seems to be accepted behavior among his “sociopathic” peer group.

My thought is that it is one thing to know Cameron cheats, but it's another to be confronted directly with it in the form of a sex worker demanding money.

[Irlandesa]

22 minutes ago, txhorns79 said:

I didn't think she switched out Rocco to protect the female co-worker.  I thought she got rid of him because she viewed him as competition for her attentions. 

That's why I had "protect" in quotes. I  don't think the coworker needed protection but my speculation is that this isn't some sort of Machiavellian power move by her.  I suspect Valentina is doing some unconscious projection in that she felt threatened by the fact that they got along but instead of admitting she felt jealous, she projected that threatened feeling onto her crush and believes her own BS.

Edited November 29, 2022 by Irlandesa

[carrps]

5 minutes ago, Irlandesa said:

Valeria

Valentina. 😉

[Irlandesa]

Just now, carrps said:

Valentina. 😉

Oops.  Thanks! 

[Pike Ludwell]

Portia fell head over heels for Jack obviously, totally for his looks, because he has a horrible personality and he has the most annoying accent I've ever heard. A horrible person to be around.

I hope Tanya goes to Portia immediately so Portia has a chance to quickly confirm. Now we know at least Tanya has reason to distrust Q, even if Portia is possibly too blind to see. I think he is trying to scam Tanya, and I hope her suspicious nature will now kick in and save her.

Edited November 29, 2022 by Pike Ludwell

[RedDelicious]

Daphne’s teeth bug me. It’s like her upper veneers are tilted and I can’t unsee it.

[Grammaeryn]

Maybe Quentin killed Greg over a business dispute or he is the Wyoming cowboy? He is getting close to Tanya to get money for solving her problem. Or maybe blackmail her?
 

[Pike Ludwell]

54 minutes ago, WatcherUatl10 said:

Tanya KNOWS Quentin is gay. Who he has sex with is his business, and I think even she gets that maybe Jack isn't actually related to Quentin, and, even if he were, incest taboos are about genetics at their core, and Jack and Q are not reproducing. She has no idea what Portia knows or doesn't know, but it would be nice to warn her about possible risks.

 Now ARE they trying to scam Tanya? Quite possibly, but the sex isn't really a clue in any way. IMO.

I'm not so sure Tanya knows they aren't related. And if he's deceiving her on this what else is he up to? Notice how shocked she was at discovering the two of them - and not because of seeing gay sex. Maybe the shock was in part seeing things aren't as they had been presented and in part concern as to Portia. And if Portia knew this was going on, like 99% of all women, she'd be quite upset, in part because it displays dishonesty. If these folks are dishonest on this what else are they dishonest about? That's how seeing this could arouse Tanya's suspicions in general (and she's very prone to suspicion to begin with).

Edited November 29, 2022 by Pike Ludwell

[aghst]

Before Tanya saw Quentin and Jack, the rooms she was walking through looked unreal, through the use of a visual effect.  You saw the walls kind of zoom in.

Maybe Tanya was still half asleep or woozy or in a dream-like state.

The grunting noises should have gave away what was going on but seeing them seemed to snap her to full consciousness.

[jeansheridan]

As frustrating as I find cringe scenes, White's ear for dialogue is so very good. 

Ethan was on defense the whole ep. But he did let Harper throw out her little fiction she had had a threesome in college. He was kind enough not to challenge her. 

I think Daphne's suggestion to get a trainer was a strong hint for Harper to get a sperm donor. Having kids was important to Daphne, not sure if it is that important to Harper. 

At this point I just want something interesting to happen. The plot momentum has ground to a halt. Right now I just care if Albie gets home in one piece but he is almost too naive to survive. Much like last season's hapless son. 

[Irlandesa]

3 hours ago, WatcherUatl10 said:

 Now ARE they trying to scam Tanya? Quite possibly, but the sex isn't really a clue in any way. IMO.

I'd say that if Q had just introduced Jack as his nephew and Tanya discovered them having sex, she might not make much of it.  She'd reach the same conclusions we have that he's likely a sex worker they just didn't want to acknowledge as a sex worker.  It's a little messy but it's a lie that makes sense.

But the fact that the sex worker is also fucking her assistant?  That'd definitely make me suspicious.  Not that there's anything wrong with either but it's just another unnecessary bit of "messy" that'd put me on alert for something even if I didn't know what.  I'd be actively looking for more red flags.

[sheetmoss]

16 hours ago, dmc said:

I think the real deal on Ethan is he's jealous.  He's jealous of Cameron's social ease and confidence.  If this is Ethan's normal personality, no wonder people went for Cameron.  You can't sit there barely communicating and have no personality and expect people to go for you. 

.

The Talented Mr Ripley vibes

Quote

Baltimore Betty

18 hours ago. 

Tanya knows Quinten is gay why is she so excited at him holding her hand at the opera?  

Tanya really  craves attention and he's showing/giving it to her

Edited November 29, 2022 by sheetmoss

[dmc]

3 hours ago, sheetmoss said:

The Talented Mr Ripley vibes

Absolutely.  I love this book and film. He thinks his proximity to Cameron will make him cool.  But alas all the money the world could not make Ethan cool. 

11 hours ago, carrps said:

Eh. I don't think Harper is attracted to Cameron. She finds him as repulsive as I do. When he tried to grope her in the restaurant, she moved his hand away and scooched over in her chair as far from him as she could go.

It’s not about attraction, it’s about power. Harper is as attracted to power as Cameron is. She likes holding him in her thrall while pushing him away.  Because if she gives in the power shifts.  

[dmc]

Something just dawned on me.  Ethan's comeback to Cameron means he knew the entire time Cameron was undressing in front of Harper it meant something and still lied to Harper and told her didn't mean anything.