S01.E04: Wife

[David T. Cole]

Available in advance online. Here's the place to talk about it. Airs on TV on the 22nd.

 

A tabloid story exposes news about Adam's past; Rachel has to produce a romantic date.

[JessePinkman]

I was enjoying the show a lot, it was funny and dark and an interesting behind the scenes look at all the machinations that go into making a reality show, until they had Adam basically prostitute himself. It just left a bad taste in my mouth. It doesn't intrigue me or make me look forward to the rest of the show or his journey. 

 

And all of her conversations with her ex play out exactly the same way. He's crazy angry with her, she's apologetic, he acts nice for a moment and by the next episode they're practically where they were in the first.

 

Also the show was melding into a sort of sameness. Show has a problem, Rachel doesn't know what to do, Rachel uses her, I don't know, Super Psychological Skills to solve it.

[MostlyC]

So who was Adam having sex with while Chet was watching (and giving Rachel the Sting's nosetip sign).

 

Chet is awful.  If the character dies, I am perfectly okay with it.

 

I will be interested to see where Rachel's character will go.  Will she save a shred of her soul, or will she become like Quinn (and if she sleeps with Adam the brit).

 

I like the ex-boyfriend, which means he will probably turn out to be awful.

[pivot]

He was having sex with Chet's buddy's wife while the buddy and Chet were watching. Blech.

[portfino]

I liked this episode because the soap opera of Unreal rather than just Everlasting had to kick in.  

 

And nothing's more soapy than Prince Charming having to have sex to get his spa funded. Also, it hightens the conflict after his really nice speech. He both passed the test - when she let the women know he was sexting his ex and failed it.

[Jillybean]

My jaw dropped when I heard the word "clit" uttered on a Lifetime show.  I didn't know this word could be said on basic cable!

Edited June 10, 2015 by Jillybean

[kalamac]

I've heard them use it on Awkward as well. I'm enjoying the show so far. I came to it because I like Shiri, and I think she does a good job as Rachel. I don't watch reality shows, but I'm guessing a lot of this is pretty close to the actual behind the scenes stuff.

[Steph01924]

This show is ridiculous and soapy, but I just watched all 3 of the 'new' episodes in a row, so what can I really say? I'm enjoying it, for the most part. I love Shiri Appleby, and even when her character is horrible, I feel for her. That stuff with her mom in the last episode, sheesh! Freddie Stroma as Adam is easy on the eyes too, so I won't complain about his frequent shirtless scenes. I love a twisted romance, so I'm rooting for them to get together. They're both kind of shitty people, so if they can help each other with one another's baggage...sure, I'll go with it for now.

 

Quite disturbing, Adam doing the new partner's wife while the other guys watch, but I'd expect you would see that and even more twisted behind the scenes in Hollywood... I wonder if there will be any other fallout from that other than Rachel being squicked out and slightly jealous about it. 

 

Downsides: I can't bring myself to care about her ex, the camera operator, and their little moments together aren't that exciting. I'm not going to respect him if he cheats on his makeup artist fiancee with Rachel, so the whole thing is dead in the water to me. Move on, Rachel. I also fast forward through the scenes with Chet and Quinn, which feels like a wise move. They're okay when dealing with other people, but I can't get into their craptastic relationship. He's quite disgusting.

[Artsda]

When Brookes said he had one request and the wife was laying there on the sofa inappropriately like she was, I knew what the stipulation was going to be. I just didn't expect the other 2 would be sitting there watching. Wow. 

[niklj]

Why do Adam and Rachel have such good chemistry?! He's such a douche but I can't help but root for them--they really do light up the screen every time they have a scene together. I found myself rewinding that near-kiss quite a few times. I hope that they can stop sabotaging themselves and each other because they can make a good team (see: Adam being able to explain away the magazine article).

 

Also, I love Faith: "Are we supposed to be seeing this?" LOL

[Andromeda]

This show just insulted me. According to Rachel (the writers), anyone who watches a show like “Everlasting” (i.e., “The Bachelor,” which I do watch) thinks gossip tabloids (like The National Enquirer, which I never read) are on the level of the New York Times (which I do read).

 

I actually find my brain cells bleeding from watching this soapy show much more than from watching "The Bachelor". At least those are real people, not these cynical Hollywood fabrications. Quinn's love life is the most boring thing I've seen in a long time -- reminds me of shows I bailed on, like "Grey's Anatomy" or "Scandal." (I thought those were going to be about medicine and politics, respectively, more fool me.) All of a sudden Quinn breaks up with Chet, and instead of being adult about agreeing to part, they start a pissing contest, run off to date other people and hire hookers, and she's firing someone who does a favor for him. Rachel's love life isn't far behind in the eye-roll department, but she's not quite as heinous.

 

I did like the conversation with Adam and Athena, where she suggests being his wingman if he takes her to final four. There've been Bachelor seasons I've suspected such an arrangement behind the scenes. I'd like to know why he didn't take her up on it, though. It also makes no sense to me there were no cameras around when they were talking.

 

I also don't get how Adam has all this time to entertain business associates (and "entertain" business associates, gag) when there's a show being filmed and he's the "star." He just vanishes for hours at a time. Time is money in Hollywood -- I find it stretches believability that he'd be able to do that.

 

Adam prostituting himself was so gross and nasty. Just when I thought the guy might be redeemable.

 

I don't understand why Chet -- who is the EP, right? -- would need to have favors returned to salvage his own damned show. Very odd. The show's success is money in the bank for him, so if they need him to get a political favor to get the power turned on for one day (not sure how that works when it involves a utility company, not the legislature), why would he expect something in return?

 

Why didn't the producers scout the location beforehand as is usually done? What are all those people standing around on the set being paid for, anyway? And why are the female cast wandering around in the craft services areas?

 

Everyone comes off as really unprofessional. In other words, this is no more a realistic portrayal of the making of a TV show than the reality of the TV shows they're making fun of.

 

So who exactly am I rooting for? Because I really can't stand these people. The conceit the show started with was interesting, but now it's just another primetime soap, but with an even more unlikeable cast of characters than usual.

 

I watched these episodes on On Demand. Not sure if I'll be back.The ratings are really bad, so I don't think this will be on much longer anyway, at least not past this season.

[A Boston Gal]

I find the real characters' stories and interpersonal drama far less interesting than the "behind the scenes" view of the television production.

[Glade]

Adam did not "prostitute himself," he was taken advantage of.  A rich, narcissistic, disgusting investor hinged his financial future, his reputation and very survival on having sex with her.  Being isolated with no family and followed around by scandal, he felt he had no other opportunity and that scumbag took advantage of him.  It was their idea, he wasn't flirting with her or bringing up his willingness to do sexual favors, these depraved rich assholes ambushed him in the middle of a business meeting with sexual harassment.  You could say he lacks self-esteem, but blaming him and not the three people who cornered him into doing it and thereby derived a lot of satisfaction from it, is wrong.  I wonder if they were filming it and are planning to use it as a weapon--against the lawsuit that's been hinted at.

Edited June 12, 2015 by Glade

[cooksdelight]

Quinn's nasally voice got to me by the time I finished watching this at a friend's house today. There is nothing likeable about this woman. Even Rachel is starting to grate on my nerves with her occasional vocal fry and that hang-dog look she always has. You shouldn't have torn up that check, honey!

[DeLurker]

Adam did not "prostitute himself," he was taken advantage of.  A rich, narcissistic, disgusting investor hinged his financial future, his reputation and very survival on having sex with her.  Being isolated with no family and followed around by scandal, he felt he had no other opportunity and that scumbag took advantage of him.  It was their idea, he wasn't flirting with her or bringing up his willingness to do sexual favors, these depraved rich assholes ambushed him in the middle of a business meeting with sexual harassment.  You could say he lacks self-esteem, but blaming him and not the three people who cornered him into doing it and thereby derived a lot of satisfaction from it, is wrong.  I wonder if they were filming it and are planning to use it as a weapon--against the lawsuit that's been hinted at.

Adam is not the hayseed kid from the sticks getting off the bus in the big bad city so I don't feel that he is being taken advantage of, ambushed, or cornered. 

 

If he said "no", what is the worse that was going to happen to him?  He wouldn't get the cash infusion from that investor for his winery.

 

The whole setup is gross and unpleasant.

[In2You]

Her ex is bland and feels unnecessary on this show, Like they literally have the same conversations all the time and with the obvious hints at her hooking up with Adam he's redundant.

 

All the soap opera stuff thrown into this episode makes for a nice Lifetime movie(like I stated in another thread I enjoyed two with similar setups that aired on Lifetime) but bland and predictable for a show.

[portfino]

I'm sorta in between on the Adam self-prostitution stuff. Yes, it's not the same as someone who's being coerced into sex, but OTOH his family has cut him off, including not speaking to him. So it's not like he just wants the investors as some lark. I think it demonstrates that, like Rachel, he's willing to bend the rules to get what he thinks he needs. But what they think they need is not necessarily what they actually need and the means they get it exact a toll.

 

I agree that I don't want another love triangle, but IMO at least Adam/Rachel actually has me interested. I can't say the same for the other BTS people. Even Quinn when she's away from the show. 

 

In a way, I think the writers made the reverse mistake of Studio 60. They made the show-within-a-show too interesting, and it distracts from the sustainable part of the show.

[feverfew]

I'm sorta in between on the Adam self-prostitution stuff. Yes, it's not the same as someone who's being coerced into sex, but OTOH his family has cut him off, including not speaking to him. So it's not like he just wants the investors as some lark. I think it demonstrates that, like Rachel, he's willing to bend the rules to get what he thinks he needs. But what they think they need is not necessarily what they actually need and the means they get it exact a toll..

I don't know entirely what to think of the situation, but I think I'll go with my gut reaction, which was that he was being taken advantage of. In a way it parallels nicely with what happened to Maya in the previous episode: Maya was told to play up her sexuality to gain something, same as Adam. There's obvious differences of course; while we don't know exactly what happened between her and Roger, the fact that she came crying out of the...changing room (?) makes it easy to think something bad happened. But I think if Adam had been a woman, it would be easier to see it as a clear cut example of coercion. Or what Glade said.

[JessePinkman]

Adam didn't HAVE to have sex with that woman, it's not like he's destitute. He's getting paid by the show and he COULD go back to his family if he wanted to but his pride won't let him. He sold his body for financial gain, you know, prostitution. Putting that on the same level as Adam's friend possibly raping Maya to me takes the blame off of him and puts it on her and that's just not right.

[In2You]

Adam didn't HAVE to have sex with that woman, it's not like he's destitute. He's getting paid by the show and he COULD go back to his family if he wanted to but his pride won't let him. He sold his body for financial gain, you know, prostitution. Putting that on the same level as Adam's friend possibly raping Maya to me takes the blame off of him and puts it on her and that's just not right.

ITA its okay to feel sorry for him for stooping so low but he is know victim. He's pimping himself out because he doesn't want to swallow his pride and play nice with dad. An the reason dad isn't playing nice with him s because he as out acting lie your typical playboy sleeping around, buying hookers, throwing parties, and embarrassing the family in the media. Maya made a mistake and she was intoxicated. I'm sure she didn't expect for things t go that far with the friend. Adam knew what he was doing and was sober.

[Wings]

I love this show!  It is pure fiction with an underbelly of truth.  Sure things are exaggerated.  She had to distance this enough from the Bach to avoid a law suit.  Chet is a great character and he is not going to die, for cryin' out loud nor should he.  Dramas and soaps have villains, it is part of the fun.  

[portfino]

Adam didn't HAVE to have sex with that woman, it's not like he's destitute. He's getting paid by the show and he COULD go back to his family if he wanted to but his pride won't let him. He sold his body for financial gain, you know, prostitution. Putting that on the same level as Adam's friend possibly raping Maya to me takes the blame off of him and puts it on her and that's just not right.

I agree that comparisons to Maya are unfair. There is a fundamentally different power dynamic when you switch genders.

 

However, we only have the word of a rapist that Adam could go back to his family. Adam is pretty skeptical in that conversation. I don't know whether Adam is right that being a success on his own is the only way his family would let him back in, but I don't know if we have enough evidence that he's wrong.

[feverfew]

Adam didn't HAVE to have sex with that woman, it's not like he's destitute. He's getting paid by the show and he COULD go back to his family if he wanted to but his pride won't let him. He sold his body for financial gain, you know, prostitution. Putting that on the same level as Adam's friend possibly raping Maya to me takes the blame off of him and puts it on her and that's just not right.

 

I think perhaps I wasn't clear enough in what I wrote - sometimes it's a bit difficult when English's not your first language (or second...). Of course I didn't mean to put what happened with Maya on the same level as what Adam let happen to himself, but I do believe there were some parallels between what Maya felt she was forced to do by Shia (the stripping and the drunkeness, not what Roger did to her),and what Adam felt forced to do. What I was - clumsily I admit - trying to say is that this show deals with different levels of coercion or "prostitution"; for money, to rehabilitate one's image, for the idea of love.

 

I'm really sorry if it sounded like I was trying to victim- or slut-shame Maya. I think I was operating more on a meta level for this show and it's themes, and I couldn't figure out how to say it the right way.

[Zuleikha]

One of the things I like about Adam is that he not only took Maya on the one-on-one but also brought her to the vineyard. The one-on-one was clearly a demonstration that he wasn't going to slut shame Maya, but the vineyard seemed to make it more sincere that he also genuinely doesn't feel she acted in any way that creates a problem.

 

I don't know why he brought Faith and Mary, though, neither of whom he can be seriously considering. I think he sees it as a gesture of niceness, but I still think he would have been kinder to cut them both on the first night. Based on what we know of them and what we know of Adam, there is no possibility of a meaningful match there or even a fun fling.

 

I'm also not sure why he cut Athena, but my guess is that he did it because she was open about her insincerity. My take is that Adam needs to feel that he's successfully snowing the contestants. It's his only source of confidence right now (in a fairly exact, but IMHO, not forced parallel with Rachel). I feel like I could actually see him with Maya, though. Of all the characters we've gotten to know on some level, she's the only one where it seems like there's any shot at a real relationship, and I include Rachel because Rachel and Adam would be a flaming combustion of disaster.

 

I actually like a lot of the behind the scenes stuff. I'm interested in Jay as a character, and even Shia and Madison. I love Quinn, although I could never explain why. I just do. But... I am not wild about this twist where Quinn appears to be siding with Bill in a lawsuit against Chet for two reasons. Reason #1 is that it's too much energy and drama focused on the behind the scenes when the show moments are just more powerful. Reason #2 is that it makes Chet too one note. If all he is happens to be someone who started out with a lot of money but needed to steal Quinn/Bill's idea to do anything with it, why would Quinn have ever been with him in the first place? Why would she work so diligently for him and seem to feel something genuine for him? At the very least, given that Quinn is nothing if not smart and ruthless, why wouldn't she have used her relationship to get a better deal in terms of gaining money from the show's success? (and I'm assuming from the scene with Chet's wife where the wife talked about some deal involving another trust fund that Chet is a trust fund baby, but if he's not, that makes Quinn's involvement even more incomprehensible). I liked Chet's character when he was the irresponsible money that funded the show and served as Quinn's comfort, but I don't want or need for him to be in actual plot.

 

The camera guy/ex is another character who's not working for me. The actor is easy on the eyes, but I agree that he's redundant with the chemistry between Rachel/Adam. Rachel is not healthy enough for a love interest, IMHO, so I'm rooting for her to get her sh*t together. The flirtation with Adam is perfect because it can't go really go anywhere.

[Kirsty]

Holy shit! I should have known this episode was too cheerful and frothy. So Chet pimps Adam out?! And Adam prostitutes himself -- with the two guys watching, homg. No wonder Rachel was upset. That was disturbing.

 

At this rate someone's going to die before the season ends. My money's on Anna killing herself.

 

I'm also not sure why he cut Athena, but my guess is that he did it because she was open about her insincerity. My take is that Adam needs to feel that he's successfully snowing the contestants. It's his only source of confidence right now (in a fairly exact, but IMHO, not forced parallel with Rachel).

 

That's a really good explanation. I wondered why he didn't go for Athena's deal.

 

I waited until today to watch episode 3... And then I immediately watched episode 4 as well lol, my will power only lasted a week.

[DancingD]

I just watched the episodes on Lifetime, and they weren't in the correct order. The last one I watched is "Wife".  But! What happened to Anna? I assume she got sent home, but when? 

[Mari]

But! What happened to Anna? I assume she got sent home, but when? 

I don't think so . . . I think she just wasn't featured in the most recent episode or so.  Considering the eating disorder and family tragedy, I think Anna's likely slated for a big, dramatic exit--attempted or successful suicide, hospitalization, or a physical attack on or by another girl.

[Fable]

I really liked this show at first, because I think we all know the truth about reality TV, but it just became too depressing.  It's one thing to realize the manipulation and quite another to have to see it played out..   I think the actors do a great job, but it is hard to take! 

Edited June 21, 2015 by Fable

[queenanne]

Oh no... it just occurred to me that parallel parent issues of Rachel and Adam, extend the probability that they will have at the very least an inappropriate fling with each other.  Do.  Not.  Want!  

 

(OK, I guess they were relatively restrained and subtle about this possibility... up until now!  I liked Rachel's reaction to realizing "oh noes, I'm wearing my Attraction Face.  For Adam.  Ugh.")

[lucindabelle]

This show gets better and better.

I don't think adam should be slut shamed just because he's a guy. He did try those other investors first. He's in a bad position and they were wrong to take advantage of him but he thought the payoff would be worth it, which I do think is a good parallel for the women willing to sleep with the bachelor on those shows. I totally do not buy that they are all doing it out of chemistry and lust and attraction. I am, 100% convinced they are hoping for a payoff in fame Etc. True love? Has wven one of those screen marriages lasted?

I can understand why people are disgusted because the quid pro quo is so blatant. And when rachel calls him a whore I can't exactly disagree but I see it more in the middle.

Loved the clip of rachel watching the kiss and seeing her own expression.

[Neurochick]

I really like this show and I loved this episode.  In this episode, I saw how far Adam was willing to go and it was sad.  The show is dark but to me, it's a good type of dark.  

 

To me, the episode really confirmed that they're all whores.  They are all doing something they feel is immoral, and yet they do it anyway for the money, for the fame, for business reasons.  Adam subjected himself to basically starring in a porn stage show because he needs the funding, he doesn't want to admit defeat to his father, so to him this is being his own man.

 

I think this show holds a mirror up to us, the audience and says, "this is what you like and this is who you are."  I think most people know that reality shows film hours and hours of footage and then edit it together to tell a story.  

 

As a black woman, I find the black producer, Jay very interesting; a black man who is willing to sell his "sisters" for a shot at his own reality show.  He told Athena and Shamiqua to act like "angry black women" because a black woman never makes it to the final four.  Athena takes the bait and then gets kicked off the show.  When she's yelling at the camera, Jay and Rachel laugh that she'll "play the race card" and "she might even get a talk show out of it."  They're so far gone that they can't even see these women as human beings.

 

I think of how the show started, with Quinn screaming that the first girl couldn't be Shamiqua because she was black and "I can't help it if America is racist."  Ouch.  But once again, that mirror.  Is what she said true?  I mean most people would say no.  And I don't think most people are racist.  But I remember the folks who went nutso when, in the fantasy show Merlin, Gwen was played by a black actress.  I mean folks on the Internet screamed about it, yet no one minded that the show had a talking dragon.  A talking dragon was fine but a white prince wanting a black commoner, no bueno.  And what about the crazy Twitter posts saying how upset folks were that Rue from Hunger Games was played by a black actress, that they had seen her as blonde and blue eyed,  even after people found the description of Rue in the book, where it clearly said that she was NOT blonde and blue eyed.  It made me wonder, what would happen if a white Bachelor chose a black woman at the end of the show, got down on one knee and proposed to her?  Folks would get angry, write the network, say it's unreal.  But if you check out certain interracial marriage websites, there are plenty of white men married to black women (De Niro, George Lucas, one of the creators of South Park to name a few)

 

Once again, there's that ugly mirror.  And I don't watch The Bachelor, but I do watch many of the Housewives shows and I'm sure this is what's done.  

Edited June 21, 2015 by Neurochick

[editorgrrl]

To me, the episode really confirmed that they're all whores. They are all doing something they feel is immoral, and yet they do it anyway for the money, for the fame, for business reasons.

I think this show holds a mirror up to us, the audience, and says, "this is what you like and this is who you are."

I love that this show is trashy fun (aka guilty pleasure TV), yet makes me think—and even feel uncomfortable sometimes. So many characters I love to hate!

[portfino]

 

I don't think adam should be slut shamed just because he's a guy. He did try those other investors first. He's in a bad position and they were wrong to take advantage of him but he thought the payoff would be worth it, which I do think is a good parallel for the women willing to sleep with the bachelor on those shows. I totally do not buy that they are all doing it out of chemistry and lust and attraction. I am, 100% convinced they are hoping for a payoff in fame Etc. True love? Has wven one of those screen marriages lasted?

Even if they are in it for true love, would any of these women sign up to be on this show if they thought the suitor was a schlubby, working class guy? 

 

And given that this isn't the first season, these producers know exactly what they're doing.

 

It's a murky, muddy swamp all the way around....and that's why I like it!!

[Zuleikha]

He's in a bad position and they were wrong to take advantage of him but he thought the payoff would be worth it, which I do think is a good parallel for the women willing to sleep with the bachelor on those shows.

I think he's in a bad position because he put himself in a bad position. IMHO, he's trying to have all the benefits of the Cromwell name and business without whatever the cost is of keeping a good relationship with his father. But Adam certainly has options. He could use his presumably excellent upper-crust education and connections to find a job, probably even a well paying one with excellent benefits and flexibility.

 

I am, 100% convinced they are hoping for a payoff in fame Etc. True love? Has wven one of those screen marriages lasted?

As a point of trivia, yes, there have been actual, to-date successful marriages from The Bachelor and the Bachelorette as well as several long-term (year or more) relationships. I don't think anyone goes on the show expecting to find true love, but when the lead is genuinely open to a real relationship, it seems like true love can actually happen. Adam may actually be open to a real relationship, but it's hard to imagine that a real relationship could come from one of the contestants because he's being so dishonest with them. Even if one was compatible with him in a different set of circumstances, she's going to rightfully feel deceived when she learns the full details of his separation from his family and the vineyard.

[portfino]

My understanding is that Adam's falling out with the family is common knowledge. And I'm not sure how I feel about how "rightfully" someone can be deceived because their gold-digging on a national TV dating show goes awry.

[lucindabelle]

I do not watch any of those dating shows but I've seen so many tabloid stories about the marriages breaking up that I'm unimpressed.

 

I don't think what Adam did is any worse than what the women are doing. Most of them are all over him before they even KNOW him. Feh.

 

ETA: according to this link, only one couple from The Bachelor has survived. In fact, only one couple actually got married unless you count the couple where the guy dumped the one he picked and then picked someone else.

 

http://www.popsugar.com/love/Where-Bachelor-Couples-Now-23463697#photo-23463697

 

Looks like most broke up within the first year, some almost immediately. A few did date for a few years.

I hardly think this is a good track record, considering how long the shows have been on the air. The opposite, in fact.

Edited June 22, 2015 by lucindabelle

[dubbel zout]

Looks like most broke up within the first year, some almost immediately. A few did date for a few years.

I hardly think this is a good track record, considering how long the shows have been on the air. The opposite, in fact.

 

I think any contestant expecting to find true love on a show like this is delusional. First of all, you're in competition with a bunch of other people, and producers are encouraging behavior that you might not ordinarily do. Second, you're in a hothouse environment. I remember a Bachelorette saying that she mocked the women contestants until she was on the show herself and realized how cut off from the outside world they were. There's a lot of weird pressure that doesn't happen in a real-life relationship.

 

Of course there are always exceptions. But generally speaking, thinking you'll find your soul mate on a TV dating show is unrealistic, to say the least. And I believe the couples have some sort of contractual obligation to stay together for a certain amount of time, or at the very least, they can't be seen dating other people before a certain point.

[formerlyfreedom]

Let's please keep the conversation in here on Episode 4: Wife; conversation on reality shows and how they work/are different than UnREAL/etc. needs to take place over in the Unreality vs. Reality topic. Going forward, posts will be moved or deleted if they aren't primarily about the episode in the topic title.

 

Thanks!

[Primetimer]

And would we want them to?

Read the story

[laschifosavita]

Adam seems aware enough of the producers' manipulations to know that there was something behind Athena's anger at Faith during the dancing date, so he maybe thought that she would be more than willing to create problems to solve if the producers asked her to.  I wouldn't trust her after that, if I were him.

 

I don't really like the new direction that Quinn and Chet's story is going in, but I was happy to see J.R. Bourne.

[ratgirlagogo]

The Bickersons???!!!?? seriously? which went off the air on both radio and television in 1951? When did this site start acknowledging pop culture references that predated 1970? and who DO I have to fuck to get this trend to continue?

[Will Holston]

As long as she doesn't end up with her drippy ex-boyfriend, cuz he's the WORST.

[topanga]

Why do Adam and Rachel have such good chemistry?! He's such a douche but I can't help but root for them--they really do light up the screen every time they have a scene together. I found myself rewinding that near-kiss quite a few times. I hope that they can stop sabotaging themselves and each other because they can make a good team (see: Adam being able to explain away the magazine article).

I feel the same way. I also loved the scene between them when he commented that she didn't look like a sheep dog (?) for once, and she talked about wearing eyeliner. They seem to let their guards down somewhat when they're around one another, but after Adam's "performance" with Chet's friend's wife, I'm wondering if Adam ever truly lets his guard down, or if every single moment with him is an act.

 

 

 

As a black woman, I find the black producer, Jay very interesting; a black man who is willing to sell his "sisters" for a shot at his own reality show.  He told Athena and Shamiqua to act like "angry black women" because a black woman never makes it to the final four.  Athena takes the bait and then gets kicked off the show.  When she's yelling at the camera, Jay and Rachel laugh that she'll "play the race card" and "she might even get a talk show out of it."  They're so far gone that they can't even see these women as human beings.

But then Jay raised his fist and said something like, "She's a banner for our people." I know he was being sarastic, but he seemed sad, too. As if he had a moment of regret that black people often have to shuck and jive to be noticed on reality TV

[editorgrrl]

After Adam's "performance" with Chet's friend's wife, I'm wondering if Adam ever truly lets his guard down, or if every single moment with him is an act.

Good point!

Adam and Rachel are terrible people—they deserve each other. But if they get together, what happens in season 2? Stupid conflict to keep them apart, like the sequel to Bridget Jones's Diary?

Edited June 23, 2015 by editorgrrl

[topanga]

 

Adam and Rachel are terrible people—they deserve each other. But if they get together, what happens in season 2? Stupid conflict to keep them apart, like the sequel to Bridget Jones's Diary?

That's my question overall--what does happen in Season 2? I suppose there could be a new suitor, but then it would be the same show all over again with a different cast, which would be boring. A different reality show?

 

I hope this show does get a shot at a 2nd season, despite its modest ratings. Shiri is a great actress, and she makes me root for Rachel.

[portfino]

I don't think Adam/Rachel will be together (at least not openly) at the end of the season, but the vineyard/spa introduced in this episode gives IMO an inkling regarding where they could go in Season 2.

[editorgrrl]

Why would that kicked-off contestant sleep with Graham?  I understand it's yet another power play (like Adam using the show to fix up his vineyard to impress potential investors), but what's in it for her? Or was she one of the ten remaining?

 

Rachel used Chet to get the power turned back on at the vineyard. What will he demand in return? He made Jay (who's gay) get him hookers, and got the star of his show to have sex with his friend Brooks's wife, Kelly—while Chet & Brooks watched. I can only imagine what he'll try on Rachel—especially now that Quinn's no longer putting out.

 

Adam's been sexting his ex-fiancée. Will she show up on set? I'd love a cameo from one of the stars of Made in Chelsea. Or "Poppy Carlton" from the BBC America mockumentary Almost Royal.

 

So, Chet stole the idea for Everlasting from Quinn and Bill? Then why has she been working 16-ish seasons for Chet for a crappy salary—much less sleeping with him? (I'd never heard of JR Bourne, but I suspect he'll have an important role. Wonder why Quinn left Bill—was it for Chet?)

[dubbel zout]

Also, I love Faith: "Are we supposed to be seeing this?" LOL

 

That cracked me up, too, as well as Jeremy and Rachel frantically waving their hands so Adam and Mary didn't walk out of the small part of the winery that is presentable.

 

Rachel used Chet to get the power turned back on at the vineyard. What will he demand in return?

Why did Chet make that a quid pro quo? I get that he's slime, but isn't what's good for the show good for him? And really, was it such a giant favor to ask his friend? 

 

So, Chet stole the idea for Everlasting from Quinn and Bill? Then why has she been working 16-ish seasons for Chet for a crappy salary—much less sleeping with him?

I think he promised her a cut but then screwed her over, as is his wont. And maybe by that time they were involved and she thought she might still be able to get a piece of the show. Or she thought she could leverage the work she did on the show to get a job elsewhere. 

[jelaine]

 

Why did Chet make that a quid pro quo? I get that he's slime, but isn't what's good for the show good for him? And really, was it such a giant favor to ask his friend?

Just my take, but Chet strikes me as the kind of man who likes having people owe him favors. Yes, what's good for the show is what's good for him. No, it wasn't a giant favor. 

 

But now Rachel is in his debt. He has leverage over her, power.  To Chet, that has to be more important than pretty much anything else ever.

[Madding crowd]

I don't understand at all why the EP of a show would not be expected to do what is best for the show. I would approach it as such and say if you don't want to do it, your show will suffer.  Still not sure this show is all that great, but still watching. I feel there is too much going on all the time and I don't see how you could produce a show with so much chaos.

 

I would like to see more of the contestants in the house and what their everyday life is like while they are filming. I feel like Chet and Quinn are both stereotypes rather than actual people, so I want to see less of them. They are filming this as if everyone is horribly unhappy, both on and off the set. I find it hard to believe so many people would continue doing something that they hate although I get it that jobs are hard to find. 

 

i wish they didn't have the scene with Adam having sex with the guys wife. I don't see how he was forced either. He is making plenty of money in the show and if not he could do like the rest of the world and get a job.