S08.E03: Snow White and the Seven Chores

[TwirlyGirly]

Kobe's dad has a big surprise for him and Emily; Sophie is puzzled by Rob's romantic gesture; Ashley uses witchcraft to get Manuel to open up; Jasmine begs Gino; Mahmoud's wandering eyes anger Nicole; Liz says yes to the dress.

Air date: 3/31/2024

Edited March 27 by TwirlyGirly

[Tuneful]

I've stopped watching these 90DF series because they keep inflicting the same dysfunctional couples back-to-back seasons. I will curious to know what Dad's big surprise is. Guesses: (1) Parents are selling the house and moving to a senior community and/or smaller place. Brood has to find their own place. This is actually a common strategy when parents have one or more boomerang kids who simply will not move out. (2) Dad will help them buy a place (gift or loan) and they move out by a given deadline. That also might put a halt, finally, to popping out kids (smaller place?). I'm imagining everyone using that common kitchen, etc., plus the noise and commotion 7 days a week; with yet another kid it will be worse.

We'll see. 

Edited March 30 by Tuneful

[CrazyInAlabama]

Another alternative, they're selling the place to Emily and Kobe, and moving to a smaller place either in town, or far away. 

[HorrrGoodnight]

Jasmine not getting her way, crying hysterically and claiming to break up with Gino is about as fresh as a musty gym bag and must be stopped at all costs. Time for them to go. 

Ashley gets on my nerves, but wow her skin is looking AMAZING! 

I just don't like Emily.  She's not horrible this season but I never got over the aggravation of previous seasons.

[Texasmom1970]

Liz says she is excited to become Mrs. Big Ed. 

Poor delusional woman. 😀

[anoninrva]

I thought Rob's itemized list of grudges, below the thorny flowers he stole from neighbor just screamed "I don't really care about you" to Sophie.  I hate to admit that I am a bit sympathetic to him about her male friend flying from England to see her,  though.  It'd be one thing if they weren't separated, but that's really bad optics on her part.

[anoninrva]

On 3/27/2024 at 2:58 PM, TwirlyGirly said:

Kobe's dad has a big surprise for him and Emily;

Kobe's family wanting a traditional wedding is the most boring and predictable plot twist this season.  It may be fun.  It couldn't have been a surprise.

[AR Traveler]

I've no use for a $1000 wedding dress but I'd gladly drive to Bentonville (about four hours away) for either that one or the first one (my favorite).  Ed is the kind of man who could have Miss America in his bed and he'd complain if she wrinkled the sheets.  It's baking with a kid, there's going to be a mess!

I want to like Emily but I can't.  She's loud and brash, especially in Cameroon.  And soon we have Kobe's version of whatever Angela named Michael's friends-the chuckleheads?  As for the wedding, I couldn't believe that Kobe was completely surprised at that request.  He must have known there was a chance.  And sorry, when you've had a few years and two (now three) kids, that ship has sailed.  If they want to do a party, you mean to tell me there's not even one caterer in all of that city?  You could have it done in a phone call.

Oh, there goes Gino with his arms folded like "harumph!" and his St. Bernard face when he wants to fight back and get stubborn.  But Jasmine's the one who got her butt implants-that could have gone to the attorney.  Gino had a gold mine with that one, if he wanted to play dirty.  Y'all are right-time to go.

I must have missed something because I didn't see what Mahmood did that was so horrible.  He saw a woman dressed as he prefers, and so he glanced.  The man can't stand Nicole, and neither can I.  Wow wasn't he quick to say "OK, bye" :).

Another man who can't stand his wife is Manuel.  I'm actually starting to like him in spite of myself.  He looks as if he can't believe how easy this scam is.   He's taking Ashley for all he can for his "kids".  $100 says there are no kids,  and he's socking the money away somehow for his freedom.  What a longing look at the bike, like the Ecuadoran Dennis Hopper.

Sophie is on my last nerve.  I don't like Rob but I think he should just say "OK, you won't come back, so I'm incrementally getting a divorce on abandonment".  This should be well worth my Sunday night when English hottie comes to town.  Oh no, they're not just friends.  

Why do I do this to myself?  I guess I'll never learn.

Edited April 1 by AR Traveler

[surfgirl]

Ashley is such an idiot. She thinks Manuel needs some ritual work on his throat Chakra because he doesn't communicate well with her? Bitch, no! He communicates just fine with other people. He's USING YOU FOR A GREEN CARD you moron! God she's such a nutter.

And Jasmine is boo hoo hooing over her kids not being on the K1 after she admitted on camera to the lawyer that she wanted it that way until she knew if she was going to stay use Gino long term or not. It's on camera FFS!

I am enjoying the Cameroon scenes though. Kobe is a decent guy. 

Edited April 1 by surfgirl

[HorrrGoodnight]

11 hours ago, AR Traveler said:

  And sorry, when you've had a few years and two (now three) kids, that ship has sailed.  If they want to do a party, you mean to tell me there's not even one caterer in all of that city?  You could have it done in a phone call.

 

Wait a minute now..... I missed this little tidbit of info. Aren't they supposed to be SAVING for a house?

[surfgirl]

12 hours ago, AR Traveler said:

I want to like Emily but I can't.  She's loud and brash, especially in Cameroon.  And soon we have Kobe's version of whatever Angela named Michael's friends-the chuckleheads?  As for the wedding, I couldn't believe that Kobe was completely surprised at that request.  He must have known there was a chance.  And sorry, when you've had a few years and two (now three) kids, that ship has sailed.  If they want to do a party, you mean to tell me there's not even one caterer in all of that city?  You could have it done in a phone call.

Pick any country on the African continent and you will most likely encounter the same cultural norm - the couple must have a traditional wedding, period, end of story. It doesn't have to make sense to American cultural norms because it's Cameroonian cultural norms and that was always going to happen the first time Kobe brought Emily home, and he knew that, it was written all over his face when her dad asked him about it. In Southern Africa, and I'm sure it's in many other parts of the continent, a man and woman can have many children together and be considered married, but they cannot get officially married until the man pays the woman's family her dowry which is almost always livestock. So they can be together for years and have many kids before they have their real wedding.

Also, it is definitely not going to be 100 guests, it is going to be the entire village community because weddings and funerals across most of Africa are open events. Often the family hosting will kill a cow or goats and make a big stew with some sort of starch, and that is given to all the many guests who come for a free meal. The invited guests often have something fancier like chicken and rice, which would be considered a special occasion meal (at least in Southern Africa region, not sure what wedding food is served in Cameroon). 

And while I also found Emily too loud and forward there, she should not have spoken much at all, and her mother is a dolt to think she is selling her daughter for goats, etc. Do these idiots not even bother to go on the internet and learn the cultural norms of the country of their own son in law before going there? Apparently not. It's a custom, don't make it more than it is lady! Mother Emily just never strikes me as very bright about much of anything.

As for Kobe's friends, I don't get the same vibe at all as Michael's friends, and to be honest, Michael's friends are spot on about Grangela, and what Kobe's friends were saying, again, cultural norms in Cameroon.

Edited April 1 by surfgirl

[Pepper Mostly]

1 hour ago, surfgirl said:

 

And while I also found Emily too loud and forward there, she should not have spoken much at all, and her mother is a dolt to think she is selling her daughter for goats, etc. Do these idiots not even bother to go on the internet and learn the cultural norms of the country of their own son in law before going there? Apparently not. It's a custom, don't make it more than it is lady! Mother Emily just never strikes me as very bright about much of anything.

Mother Emily was working my LAST nerve last night. So ignorant and incurious. Just a hoity toity white lady looking down her smug nose at the "primitive" and "barbaric" customs of her son in law's culture. I hate her. 

Otherwise this "must have traditional wedding in home country" trope is beyond tired and I can't get mad at it anymore. The great minds at Sharp keep going back to that well. "Ooh, look at the funny brown people and their weird food and colorful costumes and strange foreign traditions!" Its insulting, so I hope Emily and Kobe are in on the joke and getting some extra scratch for this exercise. 

I like Kobe a lot, he seems like a solid, loving guy. The kids are adorable. I don't even mind Emily so much any more. She's playing her part and playing it well, but through it all she and Kobe seem happy together and enjoying their family life, so I say good for them. 

[Chalby]

I'm just now watching the show, and already I'm snarling at the screen whenever Ashley or Jasmine come on.

My issue with Ashley came towards the end, when she's acting incredulous that his parents and family don't know she's a witch. Who on earth would be willing to offer up that background especially if their family is conservatively religious? Worse, was the clip where she went into the church, and didn't know what the Bible was? How can she be so spiritual and yet not acknowledge the basic prerequisite involved in other religions?

Jasmine needs to shut up with the Gino insults. If she was that insistent on using a lawyer, why didn't she hire someone? I gather she makes money from the show, as well, so why is Gino responsible for every whim she has that cost money?

And quite frankly, I believe she and Gino didn't write down her kids' names because the chance of getting a k 1 visa would have been refused. She had a better chance of being accepted by not listing any dependents.

[anoninrva]

52 minutes ago, Chalby said:

I'm just now watching the show, and already I'm snarling at the screen whenever Ashley or Jasmine come on.

My issue with Ashley came towards the end, when she's acting incredulous that his parents and family don't know she's a witch. Who on earth would be willing to offer up that background especially if their family is conservatively religious? Worse, was the clip where she went into the church, and didn't know what the Bible was? How can she be so spiritual and yet not acknowledge the basic prerequisite involved in other religions?

Jasmine needs to shut up with the Gino insults. If she was that insistent on using a lawyer, why didn't she hire someone? I gather she makes money from the show, as well, so why is Gino responsible for every whim she has that cost money?

And quite frankly, I believe she and Gino didn't write down her kids' names because the chance of getting a k 1 visa would have been refused. She had a better chance of being accepted by not listing any dependents.

I'm not a lawyer, but I'm wondering how the fathers who presumably have custody would feel about the arrangement.  That couldn't have made it easier to apply for her green card.  Considering that the kids weren't with her *before* she left, and don't appear to be staying with her mother and sister now,   this sounds notional at best.

[TwirlyGirly]

20 hours ago, surfgirl said:

And Jasmine is boo hoo hooing over her kids not being on the K1 after she admitted on camera to the lawyer that she wanted it that way until she knew if she was going to stay use Gino long term or not. It's on camera FFS!

I'm not speaking to the fact Jasmine's kids have fathers and how that affects her bringing them to the U.S. as another poster mentioned; just what I'm quoting here.

Once you list your children on the K-1 application you have one year to bring the children to the U.S. There's no requirement that because you listed them you must bring them. So listing them on the K-1 wouldn't have obligated Jasmine to bring them to the U.S. at all.

As I mentioned in a previous post, Jasmine has access to her own little handheld computer with which she could have easily accessed what a K-1 visa applicant needs to do to bring their kids to the U.S. 

If this was as important to her as she wants us to believe, why didn't she look it up and confirm with Gino that he was doing everything necessary to make it possible to bring her children? 

Was her mind otherwise occupied planning more unnecessary cosmetic surgery to think about her kids?

That's not Gino's fault. 

[anoninrva]

There is no way in the world that Nichole actually shops at Wings for her clothing.  I'm beginning to wonder if she is actually just trolling Macmood or getting payback for her treatment in Egypt.

[Fable]

I haven't quite checked out because I do keep up with the reaction videos on YT, although I can't really be bothered to spend the time to watch.  Sometimes doing dishes seems more fun and all...  

I did see on MovingMad Ed and Liz, and damn if Liz isn't morphing into Ed.  Nicole is insane.  I don't care for her husband (don't recall his name), but she sure likes to poke the bear.  

Spoiler

I don't condone DV, but if anyone asked for it, Nicole would be that one!  

 

[Pepper Mostly]

On 4/1/2024 at 5:06 PM, Chalby said:

My issue with Ashley came towards the end, when she's acting incredulous that his parents and family don't know she's a witch. Who on earth would be willing to offer up that background especially if their family is conservatively religious? Worse, was the clip where she went into the church, and didn't know what the Bible was? How can she be so spiritual and yet not acknowledge the basic prerequisite involved in other religions?

 

She's a witch and I'm a turkey. She's not in the least spiritual, she's a poser and fake fake fake. She calls herself a witch to be shocking. Watching her read Tarot cards is laughable, someone who picked up a "Your Guide to the Mystical Tarot" at Target half an hour before could do a better reading. And this whole wide eyed "Oh my goodness, what is this Bible of which you speak?" is beyond insulting, not only to the people whose church she feels free to mock while a guest, but to Wiccans everywhere, who are open minded and tolerant people. As everyone around here knows, I live in Salem, Mass, home of the Official Witch of Massachusetts (as declared by our governor in the 70s) and several thousand witches/pagans/wizards/practitioners of various mystical arts. If any of them behaved as Ashley does they would not find themselves welcome. She's a disgrace. And where the hell did she grow up? She's never been to a church service? Sunday school? A wedding? A christening? A FUNERAL for crying out loud? Jesus, I'm an atheist myself but I'm outraged on behalf of those poor people who are just trying to attend a church service. She is awful. 

[AR Traveler]

11 hours ago, Pepper Mostly said:

She's a witch and I'm a turkey. She's not in the least spiritual, she's a poser and fake fake fake. She calls herself a witch to be shocking. Watching her read Tarot cards is laughable, someone who picked up a "Your Guide to the Mystical Tarot" at Target half an hour before could do a better reading. And this whole wide eyed "Oh my goodness, what is this Bible of which you speak?" is beyond insulting, not only to the people whose church she feels free to mock while a guest, but to Wiccans everywhere, who are open minded and tolerant people. As everyone around here knows, I live in Salem, Mass, home of the Official Witch of Massachusetts (as declared by our governor in the 70s) and several thousand witches/pagans/wizards/practitioners of various mystical arts. If any of them behaved as Ashley does they would not find themselves welcome. She's a disgrace. And where the hell did she grow up? She's never been to a church service? Sunday school? A wedding? A christening? A FUNERAL for crying out loud? Jesus, I'm an atheist myself but I'm outraged on behalf of those poor people who are just trying to attend a church service. She is awful. 

I wish I could heart, clap AND "fire" icon that answer.  

I highly doubt she was raised Wiccan and didn't come up from some Christian denomination, or that church and the Bible are a complete newsflash at her age.  I couldn't believe my ears.  And even if she was in fact Wiccan from go (unlikely), has she really been under a rock that she never, ever, entered a church?  Nope, don't buy it.

Hell, I took my kids to synagogue so they would be exposed and understand what happens and how to behave.  I knew sooner or later they would be invited to a wedding or a bar mitzvah.  They even spent time with Muslim kids.  I'd go anywhere with them, and absolutely nowhere with Ashley.

I find it so cool you're from Salem.  My ancestor ran a tavern where some of the trials took place.  Taverns were more like community centers than only a bar, and I guess would host all kinds of things of interest to the entire community. 

[Pepper Mostly]

4 hours ago, AR Traveler said:

I wish I could heart, clap AND "fire" icon that answer.  

I highly doubt she was raised Wiccan and didn't come up from some Christian denomination, or that church and the Bible are a complete newsflash at her age.  I couldn't believe my ears.  And even if she was in fact Wiccan from go (unlikely), has she really been under a rock that she never, ever, entered a church?  Nope, don't buy it.

Hell, I took my kids to synagogue so they would be exposed and understand what happens and how to behave.  I knew sooner or later they would be invited to a wedding or a bar mitzvah.  They even spent time with Muslim kids.  I'd go anywhere with them, and absolutely nowhere with Ashley.

I find it so cool you're from Salem.  My ancestor ran a tavern where some of the trials took place.  Taverns were more like community centers than only a bar, and I guess would host all kinds of things of interest to the entire community. 

Right? Its what you do! Willful ignorance like Ashley's is just lazy. She's so unintelligent and gauche. Anecdotes? I got 'em! 

When my son was a baby, we ran into Laurie Cabot, the Official Witch, at the grocery store. We didn't know her personally but she's a well known figure around town. My son was VERY cute so she came over to admire him and give him a blessing, which we accepted happily. A few weeks later we ran into a Catholic priest we'd met before (we bought his mother's house after she died, met him at the closing). He admired our cute baby and asked if he could give him a blessing. Sure! Good energy is good energy. 

My son attended a dear friend's wedding at the Russian Orthodox Church. The groom was a convert so his whole family were of a different faith. The bride wasn't Orthodox. The friends who attended? Every religious tradition under the sun, and my son's friends were mostly agnostics, pagans, Wiccans, and various other non mainstream traditions. No one caught fire and everyone had a great time. And knew how to behave. 

Salem is great, you should visit sometime! The local Unitarian church is often attended by the various witches, wizards and pagans here. We're also home to the Satanic Temple. Its not at all unusual here to see people in black robes and pentagrams dropping off their kids at school or buying cat food at the market. Its very accepting here. Ashley wouldn't dare show her face, she'd be called out in a trice. She infuriates me. 

[Shrek]

I don't think she's fooling anyone including most of the casual viewers.

[OneGuy]

4 hours ago, Pepper Mostly said:

Right? Its what you do! Willful ignorance like Ashley's is just lazy. She's so unintelligent and gauche. Anecdotes? I got 'em! 

I see it as offensive more than lazy.

[Pepper Mostly]

17 minutes ago, OneGuy said:

I see it as offensive more than lazy.

It is! Lazy AND offensive! She wants to be shocking and she's actually just rude. 

[Polliwollidoodle]

I was able to somewhat, partially, buy Nicole's shtick when she was in Egypt. It's wearing thin now, though back in the USA. I can't figure out what her story is other than something does not pass the sniff test.

[Stuckathome]

There is something seriously off about Nicole….poor guy is likely still jet lagged. Feeds him crap food and passes it off as a typical American meal. For some yes but probably as many eat cereal or eggs or oatmeal etc. He was oogling that woman in a suggestive way. He just seemed shocked to see a Muslim out and about.

[TwirlyGirly]

6 hours ago, Stuckathome said:

He was oogling that woman in a suggestive way. He just seemed shocked to see a Muslim out and about.

I think you meant to write "He was not oogling that woman in a suggestive way." 😉

They were walking around the Venice Beach area I think, and Mahmoud was just experiencing a bit of culture shock — as I bet Nicole did the first time she walked down a street filled with shops and restaurants and people going about their daily lives in Egypt.

She would have been surrounded with people who dressed differently, spoke in a language she didn't understand, and whose body language and interactions with each other were guided by completely different cultural norms. 

So she should have expected Mahmoud to have a similar experience. 

Insofar as the Muslim woman he saw, I can relate to his reaction. I use a manual wheelchair full time for mobility, and when I'm out and about if I see someone else who uses a wheelchair, I notice — because it's nice to see someone who's like me. 

I suspect that's what was behind Mahmoud's reaction. Given the way the throngs of people in that area looked, he probably wasn't expecting to see anyone he could identify as being Muslim. Who knows — with all of Nicole's talk about how in the U.S. people can dress however they like, Mahmoud may have gotten the impression that here Muslim women don't wear hijab or follow any of the so-called rules for dressing modestly. So seeing a woman who was obviously Muslim based on her appearance may have startled him momentarily — nothing more.

And one more thing:

Nicole, if you don't want Mahmoud telling you what you can wear, where you can go, and who you can hang out with because of his jealousy and insecurities, then you need to keep your jealousy and insecurities in check and not assume any time he glances at another woman it's because he would rather be with her. Jeez.

[Stuckathome]

7 minutes ago, TwirlyGirly said:

think you meant to write "He was not oogling that woman in a suggestive way." 😉

Yes lol 

The way she just sort of turned nasty on him in a second was a bit scary. I know he caught crap for being a bit scary a well and controlling when she was in Egypt. In that case I really think he was trying to protect her—when he didn’t want to let her run off alone. Nicole is one of these ditzy Americans who think they have some special protective bubble that will not permit any harm to come her way.  Anyway the manner in which she flipped out on him for nothing was cuckoo. If he did take a Lyft back to lax I wouldn’t blame him

[gaPeach]

What is wrong with Nicole??? She is trying to cram American Culture down his throat within MINUTES of being off the plane?  She constantly hounded him with questions like, "are you ok?" What do you think? Why are you not smiling?  Why didn't you sleep on the plane LIKE I TOLD YOU TO!  

Does she not remember how much she hated his culture and fought him on everything when he tried to convert her?  Now he is in her country, and she is doing the exact same thing to him only she is ramped up 1000 times.  She molested him at the airport, knowing good and well it would make him uncomfortable. But she did not care, and she kept trying to kiss him while he tried to fend her off nicely.

I think she thinks America is so great that everyone wants to be an American.  No, they don't.  How can she think a very strict Muslim is going to step on American soil and suddenly want a beer, chicks and a mullet.  HA!

[Kath94]

44 minutes ago, gaPeach said:

What is wrong with Nicole??? She is trying to cram American Culture down his throat within MINUTES of being off the plane?  She constantly hounded him with questions like, "are you ok?" What do you think? Why are you not smiling?  Why didn't you sleep on the plane LIKE I TOLD YOU TO!  

Does she not remember how much she hated his culture and fought him on everything when he tried to convert her?  Now he is in her country, and she is doing the exact same thing to him only she is ramped up 1000 times.  She molested him at the airport, knowing good and well it would make him uncomfortable. But she did not care, and she kept trying to kiss him while he tried to fend her off nicely.

I think she thinks America is so great that everyone wants to be an American.  No, they don't.  How can she think a very strict Muslim is going to step on American soil and suddenly want a beer, chicks and a mullet.  HA!

Right?!?  She's not willing to compromise AT ALL.  "This is who I am."  Well, Mahmoud is the same guy he was in Egypt, and THAT is who HE was and still IS.  They're both juveniles, but I think he has shown a lot of faith by flying to America.  Remember, she was in Egypt when they met.  She was already in his country.  Now he's made the effort to be in her country and she expects him to immediately assimilate. Sheesh!

Edited April 9 by Kath94

[Peppermint]

Nichole's Welcome-To-'Merica first day plan was spot on. She wore a very conservative outfit to the airport, greeted him with an embrace and hand holding only.  She thoughtfully covered her nude manikins with robes so to not shock him. Nichole apparently does not cook traditional Egyptian food so she shopped early in the day for Egyptian-style carry out to reheat after M's sleepless-from-excitement-trip to this country. For breakfast she arose a little early, made falafel to be stuffed with raw veggies into a pita. She did encourage him to sample some US style eggs & cheese in a pita. That morning Nichole accompanied M to a nearby Mosque so they could pray separately. On the way home they strolled along the Boardwalk to give M a taste of the different things 'Mericans did for fun. She encouraged him to ask questions and make comments about what he thought, without judgement.

Uh, dream sequence over..Poor poor M...welcome to 'Merica   Hell...

And I can make falafel from a mix...easy-peasy.

[Peppermint]

Mother Ashley, like many older ladies, totes a Bible everywhere, even to a seance. Perhaps to slap down Satan if he should appear ?? Quite odd that Ashley does not recognize that Book when she sees it in a Church. Calling producer shenanigans on that.

[anoninrva]

On 4/9/2024 at 12:13 PM, Kath94 said:

Right?!?  She's not willing to compromise AT ALL.  "This is who I am."  Well, Mahmoud is the same guy he was in Egypt, and THAT is who HE was and still IS.  They're both juveniles, but I think he has shown a lot of faith by flying to America.  Remember, she was in Egypt when they met.  She was already in his country.  Now he's made the effort to be in her country and she expects him to immediately assimilate. Sheesh!

Nichole is 40 years old.

[Kath94]

On 4/10/2024 at 2:56 PM, anoninrva said:

Nichole is 40 years old.

Yes, I understand, but they're ACTING like juveniles.  Sorry, that's what I mean.

[Chalby]

On 4/9/2024 at 9:13 AM, Kath94 said:

They're both juveniles, but I think he has shown a lot of faith by flying to America.  Remember, she was in Egypt when they met.  She was already in his country.  

You're absolutely correct. I too feel something's up and it doesn't pass "the sniff test". Isn't she in her 40s now? She knows what she's doing and it's not an authentic reflection of the average American in love with a Muslim.