S04.E12: Swipe Left

[jewel21]

Quote

When she discovers her former fiancé is having a baby with his new wife, The 126 help Marjan enter the dating world through a series of chaperoned dates; Owen and the team are called to the rescue when a pregnant woman takes matters (and her anger) out at a motel where she suspects her husband is cheating on her.

Airdate: 04/11/2023

[possibilities]

Who would sell a bearded dragon without a habitat for it?

 

[possibilities]

Just now, LtKelley said:

Did everyone get the commercial for T2T.org? With Rob Lowe?

I got it. 

[jewel21]

1 hour ago, possibilities said:

Who would sell a bearded dragon without a habitat for it?

 

Yeah, that bothered me too. They need a climate controlled terrarium. They need to be kept warm and require special lamps and stuff. 

[Kleav]

22 minutes ago, possibilities said:

Did everyone get the commercial for T2T.org? With Rob Lowe?

Me too (also on antenna TV). 

[Msample]

What a shock, Marco Inaros was a baddie 😅

[Lady Calypso]

I will say, I'm learning that more Marjan is good for this show. Yet another episode with a lot of Marjan that I've liked. AND I'm very surprised they're giving her as much as they have this season. I think she's gotten more centric episodes this season than she has in the past three!

Oh, hello John Clarence Stewart, who was sorely underrated in Zoey's Extraordinary Playlist. I guess he's Marjan's new love interest (and apparently also her real life partner?) and I think they work even in the two scenes we saw them in. I'm glad Joe is Muslim, so Marjan can date him., especially given how poorly her other dates went. 

Not surprised the guy Marjan decided to go on another date with was married. I knew there would be something wrong and as soon as the pregnant lady showed up to find her cheating husband, I pieced it together.

Ah, yes, the dreaded kids debacle that many shows love to explore. And we all know how that'll turn out; Carlos will eventually be pro-kids and they'll end up having kids by next season. I'd be much more surprised if TK/Carlos remained child-free and just compromised with pets (maybe not just a bearded dragon, though).

The one praise I do have for this show is that they do bring back guest stars, which is nice. So seeing the crappy couple (quite literally) get crappier was kind of funny to see.

[iMonrey]

Quote

And we all know how that'll turn out; Carlos will eventually be pro-kids and they'll end up having kids by next season.

I hope not. As soon as Carlos said he didn't want kids I figured it would go the way it always has to on TV: the person who doesn't want kids has to be "fixed" or "corrected" because, obviously, there's something wrong with you if you don't want kids, right? Except that Carlos has doubts he'd be a good father and nobody who questions their ability to parent should be talked into having kids. God, I hate this trope that anyone who says they don't want kids has to be "fixed." There are so many abused and neglected children in the world, TV and movies need to stop pushing the idea that everyone is supposed to have kids.

Aside from that I agree it's a huge red flag that he and TK have never discussed children, especially after deciding to get married. They have serious communication issues.

[shapeshifter]

12 hours ago, Lady Calypso said:

Oh, hello John Clarence Stewart, who was sorely underrated in Zoey's Extraordinary Playlist.

So that's where I knew him from!

12 hours ago, Lady Calypso said:

 Marjan's new love interest (and apparently also her real life partner?)

Did not know that!

I groaned when she went for the swipe dating after she'd already sparked with the PT guy.
But she should get a new PT person if they're going to date.

 

12 hours ago, Lady Calypso said:

No surprised the guy Marjan decided to go on another date with was married. I knew there would be something wrong and as soon as the pregnant lady showed up to find her cheating husband, I pieced it together.

Hah! I knew something was wrong with him because his dog stories were so over the top that he would have surely brought one with him if they were true. 
So I wasn't too surprised that he was the cheater, but I didn't expect it.

 

I hope the pregnant lady has an actual chemical imbalance reason for her behavior so she doesn't have to go to prison or lose her kid for being crazy.
In my fictious world, it was gestational diabetes (brought on by pregnancy) misdiagnosed and so treated with some sort of crazy-inducing pills (especially when combined with the untreated diabetes).

 

 

 

[eel21788]

16 hours ago, Lady Calypso said:

Ah, yes, the dreaded kids debacle that many shows love to explore. And we all know how that'll turn out; Carlos will eventually be pro-kids and they'll end up having kids by next season. I'd be much more surprised if TK/Carlos remained child-free and just compromised with pets (maybe not just a bearded dragon, though).

I'm still expecting the situation where TK has to adopt his half-orphaned half-brother. 

[jabRI]

24 minutes ago, eel21788 said:

I'm still expecting the situation where TK has to adopt his half-orphaned half-brother. 

Let's just rename it was it is, '911-Young  & the Restless'

[CoderLady]

46 minutes ago, eel21788 said:

I'm still expecting the situation where TK has to adopt his half-orphaned half-brother. 

Yup. In the time-honored TV tradition of forcing children onto the childfree, either a previously unknown child shows up on your doorstep or a dead relative has made you their guardian without your knowledge or consent, and either way you're supposed to suck it up and be happy for the sake of the children.

[Artsda]

Shouldn't this child conversation have prior to engagement? Before flowers and cakes?

So first secret wife and now secret do not want kids?  

Liked seeing the couple back and that they got forced to apologize on the live stream. Lol 

[mrsbagnet]

I really hope they don't bring that clown couple back ever again. I'm glad they got their comeuppance, but they are ridiculous and seeing them three times was too much.

Glad to see Marjan getting past her ex.

[Bruinsfan]

On 4/11/2023 at 8:09 PM, possibilities said:

Who would sell a bearded dragon without a habitat for it?

 

This is set in Texas, you can probably find people selling pet alligators and tigers without any materials for their care.

 

15 hours ago, LtKelley said:

Secret wife is fair, because who does that? But I will say TK ain't blameless in his assumption that first comes love, then comes marriage, then comes Baby Owen in the baby carriage.

Yeah, the onus is no more on Carlos to reveal he doesn't want kids than on TK to talk about wanting them; I'd argue less so given that they're a gay couple for whom the natural default is remaining childless unless extraordinary measures are taken. Also, am I the only one who thinks Carlos isn't the half of the couple that should be concerned about what kind of father he'd be? Immature/impulsive recovering junkies who regularly end up in comas or targeted by murderous criminals aren't high on my list of people who should be responsible for helpless dependents. At least the flesh-burrowing first lizard could probably dig its way to freedom if it were left unattended for long.

I don't get why the philandering husband would have bothered with the saintly dog rescuer act for Marjan. That date with chaperone and her demeanor and choice of modest clothing clearly spelled out that she wasn't going to be hopping into bed with him quickly, and surely he wasn't going to fake months of a chaste romantic relationship to cheat on his wife.

[possibilities]

1 hour ago, Bruinsfan said:

This is set in Texas, you can probably find people selling pet alligators and tigers without any materials for their care.

 

That's heartbreaking.

1 hour ago, Bruinsfan said:

Yeah, the onus is no more on Carlos to reveal he doesn't want kids than on TK to talk about wanting them

I agree with that

1 hour ago, Bruinsfan said:

I'd argue less so given that they're a gay couple for whom the natural default is remaining childless

but not this

1 hour ago, Bruinsfan said:

I don't get why the philandering husband would have bothered with the saintly dog rescuer act for Marjan. That date with chaperone and her demeanor and choice of modest clothing clearly spelled out that she wasn't going to be hopping into bed with him quickly, and surely he wasn't going to fake months of a chaste romantic relationship to cheat on his wife.

I think some people are just compulsive liars, and they enjoy the theater, and seeing how much they can get away with. He did bail pretty early, though. If he had been rally interested, he would have asked her to walk the dog [i.e. if it had been a real dog he really needed to go and attend to] with him, or something like that.

[tennisgurl]

Is that three Marjan episodes in one season? With Owen in mostly a supporting role? What show is this? Maybe its just my low expectations, but I really do think that for the most part this show has been improving, even with some slips like the last episode. It helps that they are actually using the supporting cast more, even if I don't always love the stories they give them, and are doing some actual rescues. The show is still very soapy and spends way too much time on personal stuff, but at least no one is going undercover to catch domestic terrorists or getting kidnapped by serial killers. 

Carlos and TK have a serious communication issue, they should have talked about kids way before they even started talking about getting married. That's certainly a more important conversation than what flowers or cake they want to have at the wedding. Between neither or them bringing up kids and Carlos's secret wife, what else are they going to discover about each other before they walk down the aisle that they never thought to bring up? TK's second family in Canada? Carlos plans on becoming an Olympic athlete? TK is an alien? Carlos shot a man in Reno just to watch him die?

That bearded dragon is really cute but they need to get a habitat for such or the poor thing will be miserable. They're good pets but they have very specific needs. 

Glad that Marjan ended up asking her physical trainer out, they clearly had sparks right away and he seems like a nice guy, and hopefully not married. I knew dog rescue guy was too good to be true, the dating montage was pretty standard for those kinds of jokes, my favorite parts were Owen's heart eyes at the dog guy and Mateo bonding with the gym bro. 

The full of shit couple getting literally covered in shit was pretty funny. 

[shapeshifter]

4 minutes ago, tennisgurl said:

That bearded dragon is really cute but they need to get a habitat for such or the poor thing will be miserable. They're good pets but they have very specific needs. 

Kudos to the camera person for making that lizard look as cute as the Geico gecko. 

 

15 hours ago, mrsbagnet said:

I really hope they don't bring that clown couple back ever again. I'm glad they got their comeuppance, but they are ridiculous and seeing them three times was too much.

I would be fine with them returning once or even twice a season for these shorter bits.
But, yeah, no long stories for them.

[MaryHedwig]

8 hours ago, Bruinsfan said:

I don't get why the philandering husband would have bothered with the saintly dog rescuer act for Marjan. That date with chaperone and her demeanor and choice of modest clothing clearly spelled out that she wasn't going to be hopping into bed with him quickly, and surely he wasn't going to fake months of a chaste romantic relationship to cheat on his wife.

I totally agree. It made me think though that that firefighters need to be careful not to hook up with people who like to stay because firefighters can't come home every night, and those days gone are scheduled so the philanderer would know when the house would be empty.

[Court]

I have kids and I love kids. But I always wanted them.

There is NOTHING wrong with not wanting kids. It's ok to NOT want them. 

I firmly believe kids is something neither person should compromise on. If one person doesn't want them and the other does, great! It's time to break up. Someone who doesn't want kids should not be forced to have kids. I'm so sick and tired of this storyline. 

[mojoween]

I don’t know why, but Nancy’s soft “it’s the patriarchy” made me giggle.

It was nice to have some actual cases and the chaperoned dating was funny, especially when she had multiple chaperones.  I cannot agree more - more Marjan, please.

[DanaK]

I guess I wasn't paying enough attention to Marjan early on. I didn't realize she had an arranged marriage setup that went blooey and didn't know until this episode she felt the need for chaperones for dates. I knew she wore her head covering and felt she couldn't take it off in front of others but her TikTok antics suggested she was not as conservative as the head covering suggested. I did enjoy the scenes of dates and the chaperones though

Loved seeing that jerky couple taken down a few pegs

[DanaK]

2 hours ago, LtKelley said:

Marjan's adherence to conservative religious practices is inconsistent. The arranged marriage did go klerfooy and while she is pretty consistent with keeping her head covered. The need for chaperones is inconsistent with how she works almost exclusively with men including sharing a bunk room with male coworkers. You can't tell me every male in the firehouse was vetted by her Muslim male relatives.  

Yeah, I would agree with inconsistent, especially how much of a hot shot she was and is on social media

[possibilities]

Isn't dating different than work or public life? I am not familiar with the religious rules for her situation, but it makes intuitive sense to me that she might have different standards for dating than other areas of life.

[possibilities]

Sleeping in the same room in a barracks situation is hardly a sexually intimate environment. They are there to work, and they are not alone. 

[Bruinsfan]

I can see the division in her mind between peers/work friends that she thinks of as family and eligible men she's actually trying out for romantic dating. If anything I think it's developing a crush on her physical therapist that kind of muddies the waters (though who knows, she might well switch to another PT now that she's expressed an interest in him).

[shapeshifter]

1 hour ago, Bruinsfan said:

I can see the division in her mind between peers/work friends that she thinks of as family and eligible men she's actually trying out for romantic dating. If anything I think it's developing a crush on her physical therapist that kind of muddies the waters (though who knows, she might well switch to another PT now that she's expressed an interest in him).

Speaking of which:   
Wouldn’t she have had a female physical therapist? I’ve always been given that choice just because of my gender.

I agree that not having separate sleeping quarters accommodations — as well as not having a female physical therapist — seem inconsistent with observing customs that would value both the appearance and reality of sexual purity.

But maybe those things aren’t significant to Marjan in her spiritual practice?

More likely these aren’t things the writers wanted to take time for or didn’t even consider??
 

[cardigirl]

My favorite part was how much Owen was falling in love with the (unknown to him and Marjan at the time) philandering husband. He was right there with her, sighing over how perfect this guy seemed. Neither one was capable of thinking he was too good to be true. Ha ha!  Owen was so disappointed when that guy turned out to be a complete liar and jerk. He bought that guy's act, hook, line and sinker!

[eel21788]

6 hours ago, LtKelley said:

she can't go on a date with a man without a chaperone but she can be in a bedroom with a bunch of unrelated guys? Thats purity?

Considering that she isn't allowed to shake hands with a man, how is she allowed to touch men while doing her job?

[possibilities]

I don't know how it works in Islam, but in Judaism there are a lot of things that are allowed depending on the context. For instance, you are not only allowed, but are actually REQUIRED, to break the sabbath if it's necessary to save a life.

Marjan's job is lifesaving, and I can't imagine Islam would say that it's wrong to save a life if it means touching a man in the process.

[A coin in the hand]

I don't get madder at Marjan's inconsistencies than I do with Christians divorcing or having premarital sex. Lots of "believers" of many faiths easily pick and choose. Shellfish, anyone? Buttons, anyone? Dancing, anyone? 

[eel21788]

On 4/18/2023 at 8:58 PM, LtKelley said:

In Marjan's case, I don't think the issue is "can she touch a man to save their life" but whether or not she needs to work a job where she is around men not of her family or faith pretty constantly, up to and including sharing sleeping quarters with non family, non muslim men as part of her profession. If you know you're supposed to follow certain rules and you want to be serious about it with your faith, sometimes that leads to difficult choices.  I personally have no issue with how the character Marjan is islamic but also rather modern but I really wouldn't call her "strict" about her faith based on where she works and who she works with and yeah, that she's social media dropping videos of herself doing rescues where she loses her head covering.

While we're at it, how safe is it for her to work during Ramadan when she can't eat or drink anything from sunup to sundown? If she got up at 5am and ate a huge breakfast and drank a gallon of water, that probably still wouldn't be enough to sustain her until 7pm when she could have more if she was in a situation such as fighting a large, very hot, physically demanding fire. Does she have to take the entire month off?