S03.E06: As Much as I Like Not Feeling

[AnimeMania]

Joel’s emotional center is rocked after an unfortunate fender bender. Meanwhile, Sam’s date with Iceland brings some of her deepest insecurities to the surface, and Tricia perfects her pitch for Mitch.

Premiere Date: December 1, 2024   HBO   10:30pm

[Juneau Gal]

That date was excruciatingly awkward to sit through. I really like Iceland and I really want to shake Sam. 
There is no way they are going to be able to bring this show to a satisfying conclusion in 24+ minutes. 

[Harvey]

I don't think they are going to attempt to wrap up the storylines. Trish will have her cancer event which will be the big thematic ending of the series and the rest of the storylines will make some progress but they do not reach a conclusion, we are just left with clues that the characters are on the right path and they continue on with their journey.

With how much Sam keeps bringing up the kid stuff with Joel, I keep thinking that she is just waiting for him to ask her to carry his baby and she would do it. That way she would have a family with a person she really gets along with.

[peeayebee]

Once again, loved this ep. Once again, I cried... a few times.

First off, so funny when Fred came in to pick up his "salad" and covered his face when they spoke to him. 😆

As Joel started to back up in his car, I feared he would hit another car, but I still jumped and put hands to face when he did. I'm glad the little old lady was sweet.

When Sam said, "I can give you a lift if you want. Would that be nice?" I thought the 'Would that be nice' was a great thing to say. I hope I remember to use that when I offer help to people.

Tricia's presentation seemed very good. I hope nothing bad happens with it. (I doubt anything will.) What is Konza?

I liked that Sam DID put a little curl in her hair as Tricia suggested. And I liked the whole scene of her and Iceland just walking and talking. I thought it was all lovely. Iceland is lovely. He said so many nice and subtle things. "The soil needed a rest. Soil. Just like us." "I don't like how you always put yourself down." I was happy to see him kiss Sam, but then sad when Sam started to cry. 

I know chickens tend to fight each other, but I never heard of giving them toys to help with that. I wonder what kind of toys Iceland gave them.

The last scene with Sam and Joel was sad and sweet. I love how they support each other. I don't remember anything about Pastor Deb.

[Harvey]

3 minutes ago, peeayebee said:

The last scene with Sam and Joel was sad and sweet. I love how they support each other. I don't remember anything about Pastor Deb.

IIRC she offered Joel an official position in the church and he turned it down and left the church because he felt guilty about using the church space for community gatherings.

[Blakeston]

7 hours ago, Harvey said:

With how much Sam keeps bringing up the kid stuff with Joel, I keep thinking that she is just waiting for him to ask her to carry his baby and she would do it. That way she would have a family with a person she really gets along with.

Sam is supposed to be about 50. It's not physically impossible that she could carry a child, but I think it's more likely that Joel and Brad would decide to foster a child. (Maybe an older one?)

I wasn't thrilled about the prospect of a romantic storyline for Sam,  but I've come around. I've wanted them to explore Sam crying after her voice teacher mentioned falling in love, and this is our last chance.

I really hope there's some kind of a satisfying resolution for Fred, and that they don't just leave. things off with "Fred is the victim of his awful, controlling wife."

[heatherchandler]

2 hours ago, peeayebee said:

Once again, loved this ep. Once again, I cried... a few times.

First off, so funny when Fred came in to pick up his "salad" and covered his face when they spoke to him. 😆

 

I know chickens tend to fight each other, but I never heard of giving them toys to help with that. I wonder what kind of toys Iceland gave them.

 

Why didn’t Fred sit down to eat with them?  The jig was up!

 

Chickens are sentient little beings, they are sensitive, social and inquisitive and enjoy the company of other chickens, often forming close bonds with them and with humans.  They can get bored, they love to play.

 

I’m feeling like the “Sam hates herself” storyline this season is out of nowhere.. She has been shown as extremely confident in her body, and sexually.  She walked around sans pants with that one guy.  I don’t get why the writers are taking this path.  Sam is curvy and curvy women can love themselves.  

Edited December 2 by heatherchandler

[EtheltoTillie]

1 hour ago, heatherchandler said:

Why didn’t Fred sit down to eat with them?  The jig was up!

 

Chickens are sentient little beings, they are sensitive, social and inquisitive and enjoy the company of other chickens, often forming close bonds with them and with humans.  They can get bored, they love to play.

 

I’m feeling like the “Sam hates herself” storyline this season is out of nowhere.. She has been shown as extremely confident in her body, and sexually.  She walked around sans pants with that one guy.  I don’t get why the writers are taking this path.  Sam is curvy and curvy women can love themselves.  

I think the Sam is insecure story has been a through line from first season. 

[sistermagpie]

Iceland is definitely a keeper-- guy who isn't freaked out by Sam bursting into tears at being kissed is pretty special. She needs somebody to just be calm until she calms down.

1 hour ago, heatherchandler said:

I’m feeling like the “Sam hates herself” storyline this season is out of nowhere.. She has been shown as extremely confident in her body, and sexually.  She walked around sans pants with that one guy.  I don’t get why the writers are taking this path.  Sam is curvy and curvy women can love themselves.  

I think the idea has always been that she's scared of being vulnerable. So she's comfortable being raunchy and she's comfortable in her body usually, but that's also a defense. Even with Iceland, she was worried he'd reject her after getting to know her, but was okay asking him out with the body she has.

Like she was going to see Iceland in the clothes she always wore, but when Trish begged her to try to look nice, suddenly she was more vulnerable because she was dressing in a way she hoped would make this other guy liked her.

That fits with the doctor stuff too. She's fine being in your face about flashing Fred etc., but she hates thinking of her body as being vulnerable in all these ways, so she avoids going to the doctor.

2 hours ago, Blakeston said:

I really hope there's some kind of a satisfying resolution for Fred, and that they don't just leave. things off with "Fred is the victim of his awful, controlling wife."

Yeah, I'm kind of fascinated with the little details we're getting about how he's dealing with this. They're still newlyweds and this is the pattern they're setting. It's like they worked better as a longdistance relationship so Fred's finding ways to recreate that.

One thing Sam does have to do is learn this guy's name. And tbf, he probably needs to give her how it's pronounced with English phonetics! The other nice thing about him is it's easy to see her friend group would embrace him.

[cpcathy]

I know they are not wrapping the show up tidily but I need more. I would watch them eat French toast and have slumber parties for 10 more seasons.

[peeayebee]

2 hours ago, heatherchandler said:

Chickens are sentient little beings, they are sensitive, social and inquisitive and enjoy the company of other chickens, often forming close bonds with them and with humans.  They can get bored, they love to play.

Yeah, I get that. I'm just trying to picture what toys a chicken would like and how they'd play with them. I guess I need to try to find a video. There must be some!

[Harvey]

4 hours ago, Blakeston said:

Sam is supposed to be about 50. It's not physically impossible that she could carry a child, but I think it's more likely that Joel and Brad would decide to foster a child. (Maybe an older one?)

Oh I thought she was like early 40's tops. Bad theory then.

[Blakeston]

5 hours ago, heatherchandler said:

Why didn’t Fred sit down to eat with them?  The jig was up!

I found that odd too! It was so sad that their beloved ritual wiith Fred had to stop. Then they get the chance to do it again, and he runs away?

Maybe if he wasn't back by a certain time, Susan would be suspicious.

[peeayebee]

Who knows if we'll find out in the next ep what Fred was doing. I don't find it weird or out-of-character. Maybe he had something he needed to do and was getting lunch-to-go because of that. Maybe he was really embarrassed being busted by Sam and Joel. Maybe he had told Susan he was just going to the P.O. or something and would be back in 15 min. 

[Dminches]

It seems to me that Fred is just sneaking food to avoid scrutiny from his wife. He still wants to eat certain things but doesn't want to hear about it.

Life isn't tidy so I wouldn't expect the Duplasses and writers to try to attempt that in ending the show.

 

[pasdetrois]

All I could focus on was Sam's sausage curls. I kept thinking "fluff those out." And she did. Her hair seems healthier this season - highlights and more fullness and shine. At least sometimes anyway; this is Sam after all.

I'm glad we live in a world where someone realized chickens like toys. I love YouTube videos of cows frolicking with all kinds of objects.

I laughed at Fred's sliding in and out for a cheeseburger. Many of us have been there.

The walkabout on the property was lovely, reminding us of Sam's family's history with that place. I'm too lazy to research it, but I think I spotted the Icelandic actor on another show - maybe Eugene Levy's travel show.

 

 

[luna1122again]

20 hours ago, heatherchandler said:

 

 

I’m feeling like the “Sam hates herself” storyline this season is out of nowhere.. She has been shown as extremely confident in her body, and sexually.  She walked around sans pants with that one guy.  I don’t get why the writers are taking this path.  Sam is curvy and curvy women can love themselves.  

I had this same thought, but we've never seen Sam really care about a guy before, I think. She was confident about the hot guy next door, but that was just sex. Yeah, though a lot of people don't believe it, a lot of big girls have no problem getting laid, and don't hate themselves or their bodies.  But she's really into Iceland, so she's feeling vulnerable. I do think a lot of Sam's confidence is bravado, there's always an undercurrent of insecurity with her, but in this case, she's afraid of falling too hard and getting hurt.

[peeayebee]

1 hour ago, pasdetrois said:

I'm too lazy to research it, but I think I spotted the Icelandic actor on another show - maybe Eugene Levy's travel show.

I really like the actor. I need to find him in something else.

[chaifan]

One thing I'm not liking is that they're sort of "blaming" (not a great word, but it's all I've got) Joel's not having kids on Brad now.  As if Brad hadn't come along, Joel would be basking in the joys of fatherhood.  Nope.  Sure, he's always wanted kids.  But what has he done in the last 15 years of his life to get to the point of being a father?  Did he look into adoption, surrogacy while he was single?  Becoming a foster parent?  We haven't heard of any of that.

For the most part, I'm ok with the show ending and life just going on for these characters without things being wrapped up in a nice bow.  Except Fred.  I want some resolution for Fred in the next episode.  Either Susan backs off or Fred walks. 

[peeayebee]

 

37 minutes ago, chaifan said:

One thing I'm not liking is that they're sort of "blaming" (not a great word, but it's all I've got) Joel's not having kids on Brad now.  As if Brad hadn't come along, Joel would be basking in the joys of fatherhood.  Nope.  Sure, he's always wanted kids.  But what has he done in the last 15 years of his life to get to the point of being a father?  Did he look into adoption, surrogacy while he was single?  Becoming a foster parent?  We haven't heard of any of that.

In a way it does seem like we're supposed to be upset with Brad for denying Joel a child of his own. However, we don't know the whole story. From what we've seen, Brad is a sweet, reasonable man who is willing to compromise. Maybe he didn't actually tell Joel that they won't a child together. Maybe Joel didn't say anything about his desire, keeping this to himself because Brad talked about the pain of being estranged from his children. We've seen Joel swallowing his preferences instead of bringing them up with Brad, like with the piano and loading the dishwasher. I just have a feeling that Brad is completely in the dark about this.

 

Quote

For the most part, I'm ok with the show ending and life just going on for these characters without things being wrapped up in a nice bow.  Except Fred.  I want some resolution for Fred in the next episode.  Either Susan backs off or Fred walks. 

I'm curious what's going to happen with Fred and Susan. I don't think he will walk away. Maybe he will finally say something to her, and she'll either promise to back off or she will leave. Maybe we'll see that she just wanted a project to fix. *shrug*

 

[Dminches]

3 hours ago, chaifan said:

One thing I'm not liking is that they're sort of "blaming" (not a great word, but it's all I've got) Joel's not having kids on Brad now.  As if Brad hadn't come along, Joel would be basking in the joys of fatherhood.  Nope.  Sure, he's always wanted kids.  But what has he done in the last 15 years of his life to get to the point of being a father?  Did he look into adoption, surrogacy while he was single?  Becoming a foster parent?  We haven't heard of any of that.

For the most part, I'm ok with the show ending and life just going on for these characters without things being wrapped up in a nice bow.  Except Fred.  I want some resolution for Fred in the next episode.  Either Susan backs off or Fred walks. 

 

I don’t like judging other people and I certainly don’t “know” Joel, but he doesn’t seem ready to take care of a child. Granted, most of us weren’t “ready” when we had kids but he still struggles with basic life. Adding the biggest responsibility he will ever have could be too much. And, speaking for myself, having a woman (my ex-wife) be the prime caretaker made it much easier for me.

[Shenanigan7070]

Quote

I really like the actor. I need to find him in something else.

He's the lead in an Icelandic show on Netflix called Trapped. Good show if you like moody crime dramas.

[Cliff dweller]

I love this show! And I'm so sad that it's ending.

I just have to make one nit-picky comment, though. When they show them eating donuts, they have them tear off a little hunk and eat that; who eats donuts that way!? I realize it isn't very flattering to stuff a donut in one's face on camera, but if you're going to have a donut, then really eat it!

[sistermagpie]

5 hours ago, chaifan said:

One thing I'm not liking is that they're sort of "blaming" (not a great word, but it's all I've got) Joel's not having kids on Brad now.  As if Brad hadn't come along, Joel would be basking in the joys of fatherhood.  Nope.  Sure, he's always wanted kids.  But what has he done in the last 15 years of his life to get to the point of being a father?  Did he look into adoption, surrogacy while he was single?  Becoming a foster parent?  We haven't heard of any of that.

As someone else said, we haven't even seen a discussion between Joel and Brad about this, so I can't lay it on Brad. But even if he really doesn't want kids, I feel like the story's more about Joel giving up something he was holding out hope for rather than Brad ruining anything. I think that happens to a lot of people when they age. Facing the fact that if you'd wanted it that much you would have made it happen yourself is part of that, imo.

But still, the fact that Joel is now settling down in exactly the kind of situation that would seem like a step towards kids and that one thing not being there is a little different, if that's the case.  And some of his angst seems to be coming from the fact that he knows his life is great and doesn't get why he feels sad.

5 hours ago, chaifan said:

For the most part, I'm ok with the show ending and life just going on for these characters without things being wrapped up in a nice bow.  Except Fred.  I want some resolution for Fred in the next episode.  Either Susan backs off or Fred walks. 

Absolutely. That's just a major thing going on in the background that feels like we need something about it. It's not just little scenes that don't connect--there's a genuine story arc happening.

[peeayebee]

1 hour ago, Cliff dweller said:

I just have to make one nit-picky comment, though. When they show them eating donuts, they have them tear off a little hunk and eat that; who eats donuts that way!? I realize it isn't very flattering to stuff a donut in one's face on camera, but if you're going to have a donut, then really eat it!

I think what was going on was they had a full box of donuts, and they wanted to taste every one of them. Obviously they couldn't do that if they ate an entire donut before moving onto the next. And tearing off pieces was nicer than taking a bite and putting the rest back in the box.

[chaifan]

3 hours ago, Dminches said:

I don’t like judging other people and I certainly don’t “know” Joel, but he doesn’t seem ready to take care of a child. Granted, most of us weren’t “ready” when we had kids but he still struggles with basic life.

I agree.  I was trying to figure out how to say that, but it kept coming off awfully judgy, as in "Joel's a hot mess and in no way suited for being a parent".  You said it better.  😁  This whole - Joel is sad because he's never going to be a father - thing came a little out of the blue and it never really clicked for me.  I'm not reaching for the kleenex on this one.

 

 

[heatherchandler]

4 hours ago, Cliff dweller said:

I love this show! And I'm so sad that it's ending.

I just have to make one nit-picky comment, though. When they show them eating donuts, they have them tear off a little hunk and eat that; who eats donuts that way!? I realize it isn't very flattering to stuff a donut in one's face on camera, but if you're going to have a donut, then really eat it!

Especially if you are claiming to be “fucking them up!”

[PJ123]

I heart this show as well and dont want it to end yet.  However, did anyone notice with the preview of next week's show is listed as a "season finale" not "series finale"?  If is is series finale you would think Max would be saying that.

 

[astrohip]

On 12/2/2024 at 8:26 AM, peeayebee said:

 

I know chickens tend to fight each other, but I never heard of giving them toys to help with that. I wonder what kind of toys Iceland gave them.

Rubber chickens?😐