S05.E08: Love is a Battlefield

[Whimsy]

Quote

After dramatic meltdowns at the Pod Squad gathering, the couples process the aftermath. Meetings with parents lead to tears and tough conversations.

Original airdate 10/6/23

[TrixieTrue]

Well, my main take-away from this episode is that Stacey is mean. She seems very unkind. I also felt like she was making fun of Izzy a couple of times, but it wasn't in a gentle teasing sort of way. There was an undercurrent of meanness. 

[leocadia]

22 hours ago, TrixieTrue said:

Well, my main take-away from this episode is that Stacey is mean.

I haven't even made it all the way thru the episode and I couldn't agree more!  She clearly gets some kind of thrill from making other people feel less than.  She "won", she got Izzy, why does she even care about Johnnie?  They have each other, so why is it so important for them to go on the attack with her?  I don't even like Johnnie that much, but I feel bad for her.  Stacy seems cold and emotionless and like she can't stand that other people have real feelings so she lashes out.  Johnnie wasn't wrong when she said that Stacy was the deceitful one by not disclosing that her #1 was also Izzy.

It seems like this season they strictly cast for drama and weren't interested in actually finding people who wanted to fall in love.  Uche, Lydia, Stacy and even somewhat Izzy all seem unbalanced and not ready for a mature relationship.

[DearEvette]

Man, what a difference an episode makes.

I have come to dislike Stacy and Izzy.  Stacy especially, man she was awful.

And I have a much more charitable view of Lydia.

Uche became a bigger asshole than I thought possible.

Milton has gone way up in my estimation.  You could tell he really doesn't think of Uche as a friend at all, despite what Uche may think.  First he talked to him in mathematical terms -- this was pure shade because Uche was not following despite the "mmm hmmms' and Milton knew it.  Second he promised to hit Uche up "in the group text" -- which burn! because this says that Uche was not friend enough to even get a personal text. And finally the disdain that dripped from Milton's voice when he was telling Lydia about the math analogy "He may not understand it. He is no engineer. No STEM major." BWAH!  Milton was giving me everything I needed this episode.

Hi family tho... yikes.  His mother must work in a corporate environment throwing out terms like 'SWOT analysis' and approaching Lydia like a job interview.  I understand that families find this whole thing weird and off putting, but Uche's sister was outright rude.  And if she isn't feeling it from "James" why isn't she talking to James about it?

I feel bad for the women from the pods who came for a nice get together and got sucked into toxic drama.  Between Stacy and Izzy being nasty to Johnie and Uche being nasty to, well, everyone... they earned them little LIB pennies.  The way Uche speaks over women is just terrible.  Glad Miriam called him on his shit.

 

[LuvMyShows]

9 hours ago, leocadia said:

Uche, Lydia, Stacy and even somewhat Izzy all seem unbalanced and not ready for a mature relationship.

Uche is def an asshole, but Stacy is just mentally unstable. I think Lydia is just all over the place. And Izzy is a contradiction, because he's very patient when it comes to dealing with Stacy, and he's very aware and explanatory of his own feelings, but he was sooo not that with Johni.  I hope that if Stacy and Izzy watch the show, that they are appalled at how they treated her.

I also hope that Chris was just kind of frozen in shock, because it took him hella long to step in and defend Johni from Stacy and Izzy's attacks. I really wish that he or Johni had just walked away, saying to both of them, "You are abusive, you are bullies, and you two deserve each other."

Actually, I wish in some parallel universe that Stacy and Uche were together. They each have this same way of talking in an argument, which they think is calm and rational, and they are very superior about it, but in actuality they are so one-sided and derogatory and not concerned at all about what the other person is trying to really say and explain.

Edited October 8, 2023 by LuvMyShows

[Snapdragon]

I've got to admit, I found it hilarious that all the women disliked Uche so much that when he was going on about Lydia, they were all just giving him deadeye stares and when Stacy interrupts his tirade to snap at Johnnie, he just looked flummoxed.  Then, when he tried to steer the conversation back to himself, all the women let it be known that they did not like him and were not here for his bs.  LOL.  Amazing.

I thought Izzy's mom really wasn't having it with Stacy until we got to Milton's family, who really weren't having it.  Those were some uncomfortable interactions.  Not that I can blame them.  Every time I watch one of these dating show, I try to imagine how I'd handle it if one of my kids put me in this situation and yeah, I don't imagine I'd be happy.  

As for Stacy/Izzy and their unified attack on Johnnie...  I feel that Izzy's behavior came down to him being drunk.  That's the only reason I can come up with for his weird, unnecessary conversations with Lydia and Johnnie.  Stacy, on the other hand, seemed to have all her wits about her, so I'm not sure why she was so mad at Johnnie.  I get being annoyed that Johnnie started talking crap about her in the pods after Izzy dumped her but Stacy got Izzy in the end, so why is she so upset?  Even if Johnnie and her had become friends in the pods, I'm not going to be that upset over a two week friendship ending.  The only guess I have is that things weren't going well with Izzy, so she took it out on Johnnie.

[Empress1]

“Do you not look at people’s stories that you’ve been fucking? ‘Cause I do!” DEAD.

On 10/7/2023 at 8:52 PM, DearEvette said:

Milton has gone way up in my estimation.  You could tell he really doesn't think of Uche as a friend at all, despite what Uche may think.

He wasn’t even looking at Uche for most of their conversation. You can tell Uche wanted to play this big brother role to Milton and Milton wanted nothing to do with it. Same with Izzy and Chris. Y’all aren’t friends!

I’d have gotten up and left. “Think what you want. Best of luck in your marriage.” And Stacy and Izzy were still yammering on about Johnie when they got home. Y’all are engaged! Go to a cake tasting or something.

Stacy will always make Izzy feel like he’s not enough. Also who has time to be scattering rose petals and shit every day? They have jobs. He’s in a new job, which may mean longer hours while he gets acclimated and proves himself. What does SHE do for HIM? When he told her he was hurt and felt unappreciated she was like “do more shit for me.” Even when she was telling him what she loved about him, it was all about her. She’s really self-absorbed.

I don’t think she’ll say yes. He seems to love her; she seems more undecided.

I liked Izzy’s mom a lot. She clearly loves her son and just seems very kind. She’s not really here for Stacy, I don’t think, but she’s trying.

What Stacy wore is … not what I’d wear to meet a boyfriend/fiancé’s parent (she dressed a LOT more conservatively and formally to see her own family, down to a preppy headband). Her whole comportment was kind of too casual, from what she wore to how she was sitting. (No shade to the crop top - I have one that size, spaghetti straps and all. I just wouldn’t wear it to meet a parent for the first time.) Lydia had on a crop top too but her midriff was covered and her pants were at least dressy.

Milton’s face when his sister was talking about their mom’s Googling was hilarious. (Milton’s mom is not here for any of this. Neither is his sister. That business analogy was savage.)

[HerkyJerky]

14 hours ago, Empress1 said:

Also who has time to be scattering rose petals and shit every day? They have jobs. He’s in a new job, which may mean longer hours while he gets acclimated and proves himself. What does SHE do for HIM?

E, I totally agree!  Reminds me of the scene in "When Harry Met Sally" where Billy Crystal tells Meg Ryan why he never picks up his girlfriends at the airport. "Because if I do it for them once, years later when we have an argument, they'll say "How come you never pick me up at the airport anymore?"" LOL!

[ice12]

I don't like any of the couples here, especially Stacy and Izzy. Chris is awesome and I really hope he and Johnie can make it work. To get back to Stacy I really really don't like her or her attitude.  Her voice makes me want to vomit and she thinks she's better than everyone.  She couldn't be more wrong. 

[quirkygal]

I'm confused. I thought Stacy was an "operations manager" but they showed her teaching an exercise class 🧐???

No shame in either job but the hours/schedule/demands between the two are very very different.

[Lindz]

Well that family meet was ROUGH!!! Shout out to the shady editors showing him trying to get that cork out while showing his mom asking what Lydia wants with a 24 year old. 🤣🤣🤣🤣

[Jax7917]

It annoys me when on these reality shows, the family member comes in with a narrative and knows that whatever the person says, they will fire back with, "That is such a scripted answer." This happens on the Bachelor a lot and I just finished  the scene with Milton's sister saying it to Lydia. What answer are they exactly looking for when they ask the girl in front of 10 other family members why she loves their son? Like, what would the correct answer be that would satisfy them?

Also, I met my husband when he was 24. I'm only a year older than him but he was a lot more mature than a lot of older guys I've dated before him. Do I think these two should jump into marriage within 2 weeks? No. I think they should hold off, which I predict they'll do. They're not looking to even have kids within the next 5 years so them rushing is pretty stupid. But the age thing is kind of something silly that they keep bringing up when ultimately, Milton comes off more mature than the others.