S05.E09: Tell Me Sweet Little Lies

[BreezieBitch]

With the clock ticking at Speckulate, Mariana and Evan work together to stop a takeover; Malika hustles to get the votes for her women's center proposal; Davia invites Dennis for a night out with her fellow cast members.

[possibilities]

So... did Luca's crush cancel because she didn't like being lied to, or did she cancel because she found out Luca's cleaning the studio? She was upset enough to walk out without getting her phone back, so she was really upset. Most people will lose their minds without their phone.

Is Malika actually giving up on politics? I wonder what she'll do next.

It was uncomfortable watching him meltdown, but I don't blame Evan for being frustrated that nobody is telling him anything. It's got to be very upsetting. Of course, he didn't ask much at first, so it's party his fault. He seems like he's handling things without blacking out now, it seemed like he's back at home and no longer in the hospital, and he's working on Spekulate business. So I don't really get why the ban on talking to him about stuff is still on. 

The fake out about Davia kissing someone other than Dennis was stupid. Why does this show do that kind of thing? Grow up, show!

 

 

[circumvent]

I actually liked most of this episode. Even if the memory loss trope is annoying and overused, and badly written, the dialogue and Evan's rant was well done. Inconsistent with the past episodes as it might be, it is the first time he acted the frustration of a person who cannot remember certain things. Mariana, of course, just stood there all "poor me, I had the best intentions". She is a child. All the crying in the office, it was pathetic. Unprofessional, unnecessary. All she had to do was saying what she said without the crying.

I also liked that they showed a little more reality in the Malika's story. Politics are dirty. I still don't know if her boss is "one of the good ones". Maybe it is the acting but every time she interacts with Malika I have the impression that she will stab her in the back. Like she is pretending to support the causes but working behind the scenes. It would be pretty silly for an elected politician to be plotting against a staffer but the whole acting things seems off to me

The Dennis Davia story is silly. Dennis worked for a big corporation, right? Why is he allowing himself to be played by the other guy, the one financing his restaurant? Davia's story with the play is also way over the top. 

I like to see Luca dancing and the dance parts but I don't care for the other dancer. The girl in the restaurant is much more interesting and has a story. But the sow needs to go in circles before getting the characters anywhere, or to get them to end where they started.

[possibilities]

I have the same feeling about Malika's boss-- no matter what she's doing, I always feel like she's a backstabbing scheming liar. And I do think it's the acting choices, but I can't tell if they mean for us to think that or not.

Ditto re Luca's love interests. I love the sous chef he works with. I have been waffling on the dancer... she has seemed sort of off, to me-- believable in the sense that I have met people like her, but not quite right for Luca. But, again, I don't know what the show wants us to think.

RE Dennis and Davia, I thought that Dennis was a fish out of water with Davia's friends, but his reacting SO badly to them was obnoxious. yes, they are talking about work, and he's not a part of that. Maybe they should have tried to draw him in and get to know him more and include him in the conversation, but it was just kind of awkward, not horrible. And sometimes it's okay to just sit back and enjoy other people's happiness. He shold bee glad Davia's co-workers are so supportive of her, since there have been other situations where that wasn't so.

Meanwhile, I thought Davia was 100% justified in her revulsion against Dennis's investor pal, who was acting quite obnoxious. I can't tell if Dennis sees that or if he's so seduced by the money that he's totally on board. He hasn't been that gross in other contexts, but he could have at least validated Davia's aversion when they got home. I liked that she was able to stop the fighting, though, with the suggestion that the sober up first.

I think Mariana is shouldering a huge responsibility that she really legitimately would be in over her head with. So, given that background, I think she's handling it really well. But, on a scale of "how to handle this" vs "how I would expect her to handle it given how little experience she has" I would say, yes, she's struggling and not doing the best job. But, honestly, her idea to get the staff on board, and her succeeding despite the attempt to shut it down by the insurrectionist faction, I think her success and composure are TV-fantasy wish fulfillment. She is not being given ANY clues on how to handle Evan's medical situation NOR how to manage Spekulate. And when she sought advice from her moms, Evan's lawyer, and Evan's doctors, her moms said she should get therapy to help herself cope emotionally (but they had no practical suggestions for the situation itself), and Evan's team has been giving her conflicting advice all along-- what to do about the surgery, don't tell him anything, tell him about the movement to depose him, don't stress him out, etc. 

 

 

[KaveDweller]

15 hours ago, possibilities said:

The fake out about Davia kissing someone other than Dennis was stupid. Why does this show do that kind of thing? Grow up, show!

This show loves fake outs like that.

11 hours ago, circumvent said:

I also liked that they showed a little more reality in the Malika's story. Politics are dirty. I still don't know if her boss is "one of the good ones". Maybe it is the acting but every time she interacts with Malika I have the impression that she will stab her in the back. Like she is pretending to support the causes but working behind the scenes. It would be pretty silly for an elected politician to be plotting against a staffer but the whole acting things seems off to me

I always thinks Malika's boss is playing her somehow too. Maybe connected how she still was into the woman Malika was dating? No idea, really. 

I like Luca, but the dance school scenes are boring. I also didn't get why Luca felt the need to lie about meeting with an agent. I get that he didn't want Riley knowing his financial situation, but couldn't he just say he was busy working that night? She didn't need to know that working meant cleaning the studio.

[possibilities]

I think Luca is so traumatized by his past, that he's in a shame spiral all the time. He's probably used to having to hide everything all the time, and is having trouble shedding the habit. I agree it was unnecessary and ill-advised to lie, but that's why I think he did it.