S01.E10: Coupled Up

[Big Mother]

It's decision time! Which couples will go home together and which ones will go on their separate ways?

[Big Mother]

Yay! BEn & Lisa, Alex & Lindsey, Brandon & TT, went home coupled. Though who knows if they're still together by now. (I have a feeling Brandon & TT still are). Poor BT. He was ranting on twitter tonight how upset he is with production and how much he regrets doing the show. The man needs help.

[adhoc]

I can't quite figure out how much of this show--and what we see--is scripted/producer manipulated, but I think it's a considerable amount. I'm thinking 70% or so?

The BT/Ashley stuff was riveting, though obviously we missed huge chunks of the convo and context, since it seemed that BT was overreacting to the merest few words, or getting surly for no real reason.  Assuming they are not actors and their story wasn't just all totally scripted, I say props to Ashley for her wise assessment and handling of the whole situation.  I was so impressed with her!

And then you have Alex, she of the Awful Makeup, at the opposite end of the spectrum. I knew Alex would not get on the boat, since she could extend her 15 minutes of fame a little more by meeting Jeffrey at the helicopter, right?  But then to go into this whole self-absorbed "I learned this and I want that and I...I...I...I..." monologue and dump him--wow, she milked her time in front of the cameras for all it was worth. I don't care if that was all producer driven or not. I hated it, and I hated the Alex show that Coupled became these last few episodes. I don't imagine Jeffrey really had deep feelings for her, but hey, he dodged a bullet.

Brandon - I don't know him from Adam, he's an athlete, right? - based only on this show, he seems like a standup kind of guy. Very impressive.

I was hoping at the end they'd say whether any of the couples are still together, but they did not say.

[Big Mother]

I'm gonna listen to the aftershow with ashley tomrrow and see if they drop any nuggets :D

[Wandering Snark]

4 hours ago, Big Mother said:

I'm gonna listen to the aftershow with ashley tomrrow and see if they drop any nuggets :D

Can you rephrase that? *laughs*

Anyhow, yeah we must always focus on that this is a summer show on FOX. You just never know. But taking it as the Ride that I was I enjoyed it, while not taking it too seriously... I'm hoping to see the same experience with a new set of people but I have a feeling it will be one of their many 'one offs'. It did get mired in the producer hocus-pocus to keep their beloved Alex on the show but the other people still shone through at the same time so like any relationship, it had it's rocky moments.

Alex really cut herself off at the knees via this whole experience because it is now obvious that she has faith as the forefront of her life and this was about how much she can be tempted to not keep to that commitment when it comes to a relationship. She simply was never honest with herself about what she wanted and what she was prepared to sacrifice for someone who checked a whole lot of boxes for her but stumbled in matters of faith. If she reallllly wanted a relationship out of this when getting to meet the guys she should have right out said "I need a man whose life is guided by faith-based decisions. If that's not you we're just not 'meant to be'. She got caught up in the whole "process" and the locale and the helicopters and the dazzling smiles etc and lost touch of what is most important to her. Alex, try Christian Mingle and see what happens.

The BT saga made for not such a fun portion of the show and it sucks to hear he was complaining about it afterwards. The editing monster seems to have once again reared it's ugly head I guess. But yes he needs to work his issues out, those thrust upon him by his life's path and those that are just his nature. He needs to get thereapy, get anger management and get to a point where he can trust someone again and not back off/down when any little ripples come into his pool. Final diagnosis? He has too many demons right now. It sucks but that's the truth.

Lisa and Ben. Oy. I thought for a bit they would be the only ones leaving together which would have been so not how I saw things going down. I hope those crazy kids make it just because it's so unexected they did/might/etc. They definitely have passion & sexual chemistry but is there love in there? That's one of those early struggles for any relationship that starts out jump started from the loins (so to speak) differentiating love from lust... if they get through that who knows. They could be together or flared out by know, 50/50 shot.

Alex and Lindsey were too cute. I'm glad she kept herself open to diving into the unknown of his rock n roll lifestyle. They have hurdles to overcome but what couple doesn't? I hope things work out for them.

I'm still wondering with as many non-connecting on things their time was filled with how they came to professing undying faitha nd love on the beach before jetting off (err helicoptering off?) together. They seem the strongest and then the most fragile too. I can't figure them.

Overall the "how many damned steps can there be down to one beach??" FOX drama building format was played out after the first time we saw it but then this is a "reality" show so we have to see the contestants squirm as part of the formula. I did think it went a bit against the show's MO to just divide the couples without even getting the chance to have one last talk (even if I agreed they needed time to clear their heads and contemplate).

[Whimsy]

11 hours ago, Big Mother said:

He was ranting on twitter tonight how upset he is with production and how much he regrets doing the show. The man needs help.

Well, he's the type of person that showing emotion is seen as a sign of weakness so he's probably very embarrassed that he showed so much emotion on TV.  I'm not defending him.  He does need help.  He needs someone like Ashley who will be supportive but also call him on his shit because he can't just walk around treating people like crap and shutting down completely without attempting to work on it.  I see many good qualities in BT, so I think he can get there but it'll take time and a lot of work. 

I kind of felt bad for Tyler.  He is so immature and I knew that he and Alicia would not work out at all, but him just standing there looking so hopeful and then dejected.  I felt terrible.  I'm such a bleeding heart. 

I actually don't think any of these couples are going to make it long-term but it was still interesting to watch.

Listening to the AfterBuzz podcast now.  I am sure they'll have a couples update at the end of the show.

[adhoc]

TBH, I just don't think we saw enough of BT and his time on Anguilla to understand where he's at and who/what exactly he does or doesn't need (other than anger management skills, but even then, I guess the right coping solution depends on where the anger comes from).  I really wish the editing had not been so hit-or-miss. They'd focus briefly on BT and Ashley, then briefly on TT and Brandon, etc., and I never quite felt I got a bead on most of these couples.  I could have just watched the BT and Ashley story, personally, because that actually looked real (as opposed to contrived and producer manipulated).

If this show returns, I think they really need to retool it. How, I don't know. But I felt like TPTB were flying by the seat of their pants half the time--like they kind of started out with this idea about how the show should go, but along the way they would change course or tweak the "rules" because maybe the action at the villas or the bungalows wasn't proving to be as compelling as they'd hoped?   

Edited August 3, 2016 by adhoc

[Dirtybubble]

I was reading on Facebook that Ben & Lisa were still together and TT & Brandon were still together as well.  Well at least they were together during the Kentucky Derby which was a couple of months ago soooo I guess they are still together today.  Not sure about Alex and Lindsey.

[Big Mother]

Edited August 3, 2016 by Big Mother

[Big Mother]

 

[Sayla Vee]

I enjoyed this show, but would have like to see more of the couples and less of Alex.  Hate to say, but she really annoyed the heck out of me.  On the other hand, I'm glad Alex didn't make it final with anyone because she's way too young, immature and needy to commit to anyone at this point.  She needed the same kind of support from her best friend that she did with the other girls on the island -- too selfish. 

Alex & Lindsey were the couple I was most rooting for, but also liked Ben & Lisa together.  Neither was my cup of tea, but they were so cute as a couple.  Hope Brandon puts a ring on it as I think they are right for each other.  Ashley did the right thing, even though my heart ached for BT.  She's just not equipped to handle his mood swings, and that's not a criticism.  Most of us would not be either.  Alicia also did the right thing, although like GenL, I felt so bad for Tyler. 

I'd like to see this again, maybe just once a year, but with more episodes and more emphasis on what was happening with the couples.  And please don't bring Alex back again, or anyone like her.

[Big Mother]

I'm just at the end of the BT/Ashley saga. I feel so bad. BT really needs therapy and help. Ashley might not be the best person for him.

Yesterday he was on FB live to explain his side of the story. Haven't watched it yet  but here is the link:

https://m.facebook.com/story.php?story_fbid=535851563283921&id=320650298137383

 

Here's what he posted on twitter last night:

 

[Big Mother]

Tyler on Instagram had some choice things to say. Makes me kind of question how *real* this show was...

 

[Big Mother]

I'm just a few minutes into BT's facebook live and a LOT of stuff is becoming clearer by the minute....

[peach]

I know "reality" TV is as phony as a three dollar bill, but I, uh, may have had a tear in my eye when Brandon and TT connected at the end of the episode.  His joy at being with her knocked a chip off my stony, cold heart.

I'm glad Alex and Lindsay gave it a try, even if it apparently did not work out.  It's not like they were flying off to be married, so why not see where it would go.  They had an easy chemistry. 

Same with Ben, I'm glad he wanted to try, and they are still together it seems!  I sort of side-eyed the coincidental matching outfit, but hey, maybe it really happened by chance.  Brandon and TT have left me feeling charitable.  I really thought Ben and Lisa were full of crap at the beginning of all this, but those two crazy kids knew what they were doing. 

Alex and Jeffrey, I mean, whatever.  Last minute rules twist to keep the drama going.  They both seem no worse for the wear.  I do wonder if she was just milking it with her last goodbye, or if she thought she might go through with it and panicked at the last second.  Then again, who cares?

Tyler and Alicia were a total mismatch, but maybe she could have expressed some tentative doubts to him, about their ages or whatever, instead of apparently smiling through it and acting like it was all fine, and then leaving him alone on the beach.  It was the right choice, but he definitely did not know she might feel that way.  Sucks to be blindsided.  Of course, he may have just not been paying attention.  His introduction to her mother was cringeworthy, while he gushed about her HOT red dress, etc.  Just no.  Tyler's entire emotional catalogue:  "She's hot!"  I'm sure he bounced back fine.  lol 

I hesitate to comment about BT and Ashley.  I know he has PTSD, but speaking from experience,  his mood swings and that particular sort of blaming strike me as possibly alcohol-related.  Alcohol was definitely flowing freely in that place, and that can seriously unlock the hostility in some people.  "You don't understand me" is not fair game to lash out at someone who IS actually trying to understand to the best of their ability, with love. Now he's blaming the show, though that may be perfectly valid.  But it's the current year, so what would one expect?  I was seriously alarmed when his own dad warned her about his temper.  I just don't think the stress of this show was a good idea for someone with stress-related problems.  His social media says it was a business decision to sell books, and I guess he's selling them, so bully for him, I guess.   I feel uncomfortable criticizing someone who sacrificed so much for our country, but at the same time, he's promoting himself and his products by inviting this sort of attention. 

Anyway, Brandon and TT made for a great ending.  I would watch a second season!



 

[peach]

Well, I was just reading Alicia's blog, and she talked up Tyler very nicely and said he also had plenty of mature moments that never made it on air.  They are friends and she posted a message from him to her readers. She's just ready for a serious relationship, and he's still sowing some wild oats, which is fine.  Good tidbits about how the show worked.  On their private fishing date they were only out there for about 20 minutes!  lol  Enough to catch a fish and have a photo op.  She seems like a pleasant person.

https://aliciamblanco.wordpress.com/

[peach]

15 hours ago, Big Mother said:

I'm just a few minutes into BT's facebook live and a LOT of stuff is becoming clearer by the minute....

Can you summarize for us?  I don't want to watch 51 min of it.  lol

[Big Mother]

He was recruited by a casting agent to do a reality show and he made it almost to finals but was nixed (I'm so curoius which one). It was not a dating show. Then he got offered to be on Coupled. (I'm wondering if it was Survivor/Big Brother bc Coupled is a Mark Burnett thing and Robyn Kass did the casting.) He initially declined bc he was really not interested to be a on dating show; he hasn't dated in a number of years and did not want to do it. he tried to decline it 3 times but they kept begging him to do it. His family and friends encouraged him to do it bc it woudl help sell his books and also raise awareness of his charity and of PTSD in vets. He figured fine, he'll have fun and meet cool people. What he DIDN'T expect was to fall in love. He really truly fell in love with Ashley. However, he's a very independent person, and he retired from the army in 2011. Having to once again be in an environment where his every move was monitored and dictated was very hard on him. He can't tell us much but he kept calling it "manipulation and BS". He butted heads with production non stop. It irked him to be bossed around by people much younger than him, and all that. The filming situation is what triggered his PTSD and he was in a really bad place the last 3 days on the island. Ashley also sided with production on a lot of things and did not agree with his view on how they were being mishandled. He said that in a different time and place he and Ashley would work out. They really had feelings for each other and he still loves her. He was absolutely shocked when she decided to leave suddenly. He didn't know how she felt about the whole PTSD and his dark side, and watching her teary confessionals on the final episode were pretty astonishing to him and he feels terrible. He says that the past few months as the episodes were airing it was really hard for him to relive all of this and now that the finale is over he's putting it behind him and does not want to ever talk about Coupled again.

All this is from the first 30 minutes of the video. After that he did a Q&A which I didn't watch yet.

****

Take it as you will... as a longtime Survivor/Big Brother fan I know how these reality shows are manipulated and how they choose to show only certain scenes depending on how they want to portray a person. BT says he had so many amazing wonderful moments with Ashley which were never shown; there were 2-3 middle episodes where they weren't shown at all. Instead production chose to air the one or two times he had an anger issue and they put so much emphasis on the PTSD and overlooked all the amazing fun times he had. Well, he says, reality shows are about drama, and he knew that. He doesn't regret going on the show, but he urges people to watch the show UnReal to see behind the scenes of what really happens on reality shows.

 

I still can't get out of my head those final scenes of him crying the last day of filming. His breakup with Ashley is one of the saddest things I've ever watched.

[Big Mother]

Oh and one more thing: it was rather amusing to hear him throw shade at Alex, who had started a twitter feud with him last night. Alex was only there in the villas for like five days, she doesnt know him at all. It's ironic considering what a crush Alex had on BT the whole time, lol.

 

incidentally, i still wonder what BT's full name is? What does BT stand for? (ETA: Just found out. It's Brian Taylor. But he calls himself BT. Imagine the confusion with a Taylor, a Tyler, and now a Brian Taylor... lol)

(I just read up about him. He's been through a lot. wow. http://www.bturruela.com/about/)

Edited August 4, 2016 by Big Mother

[peach]

Well, that goes back to what I said after last week's episode, that the show made a mistake in casting him for this scenario.  And not an innocent mistake, either.  
I recently discovered that they find people and then decide what show to place them in when my friend's niece did an episode of Survivor.  She auditioned for Amazing Race, and they turned her down but offered her Survivor instead.  Of course, one of the things she says on camera is how all these years she dreamed of being on Survivor.  lol 

I'm sure they thought he'd make excellent eye candy and had a good backstory, and it actually would highlight his causes, but the producers are also young and stupid, apparently.

Quote

BT says he had so many amazing wonderful moments with Ashley which were never shown; there were 2-3 middle episodes where they weren't shown at all. Instead production chose to air the one or two times he had an anger issue and they put so much emphasis on the PTSD and overlooked all the amazing fun times he had.

The only thing I'll say about this, is having been in a similar relationship, this is what's hard.  All the great times are punctuated by the "one or two times" he had "an anger issue" and, I'm sorry, but that is what will define a real relationship as well, in the end.  His own words and reactions to her raised red flags, even it was so amazing and wonderful the rest of the time.  Even that is a red flag, IMO, when it's SO amazing until it's not.  It's an unhealthy dichotomy.  Almost idolizing a person one minute, and hostile toward them in another is extremely stressful behavior.  He expects a tremendous amount of empathy, yet was shocked that she was upset, though she cried right in front of him.  It didn't occur to him that she could be that upset, and he was still justifying himself until Brandon told him he needed to apologize and make up with her, because women have feelings.  I still think alcohol was influencing a lot of this.

I'm sorry for both of them, but it's perhaps naive to think it would all be different outside of the show, as real life also has pressure and things one can't control.  I think his initial instincts were correct that he shouldn't be on a dating show and subjecting himself to all this.  The producers shouldn't have pushed him to do it.   I hope his time with Ashley does give him hope for love, but some help with relational skills would be important. 

I may be projecting something that isn't there, of course.  YMMV.

[adhoc]

Peach, I think your observations are very reasonable and astute. I went to listen to some of BT's Facebook chat. When he finally admitted he still loved Ashley--and he's having a hard time just being friends with her--the romantic in me went "awwww", but the pragmatist thought "What if you two got back together, got married, and had a baby, and that baby was up all night/day crying, and you couldn't sleep or get your work done, how would you handle that after a few days?" Pragmatic me thought he might not deal with it so well.  (But hey, I could be wrong.) 

[Big Mother]

Oh yes, I think he needs anger management / therapy BIG TIME. But I can see where he's coming from when he says that being in that stressful filming environment exacerbated his PTSD.

Peach, now I'm curious, who is your friend's niece who did Survivor???

[peach]

12 minutes ago, Big Mother said:

Peach, now I'm curious, who is your friend's niece who did Survivor???

You know, I forgot her name.  I'll have to ask again.  She was the former Miss Missouri, long blonde hair.  I don't watch Survivor, except for her portion, and unfortunately, the only thing I remember was she was in that group floating in a lagoon or something, saying they "were the cool kids."

[Sayla Vee]

4 hours ago, Big Mother said:

BT says he had so many amazing wonderful moments with Ashley which were never shown; there were 2-3 middle episodes where they weren't shown at all. Instead production chose to air the one or two times he had an anger issue and they put so much emphasis on the PTSD and overlooked all the amazing fun times he had.

 

Big Mother, thanks for the BT recap and all the updates on the other couples that you have provided.

I must first say that I honor BT for his service and I could not be sorrier for his accident.  He has my admiration for the way he has gone through his rehab and adopted a new profession.  I wish him well in his life and his career.

I'm sure there were many good times they didn't show; after all, BT and Ashley were not the only couple in the show.  It's got to be a representation of all that happened.  I know he says now that there were only one or two times when he had anger management problems, but I'd bet if you could talk privately to Ashley, you'd hear a different story.  She often looked stressed when she was with BT, and always seemed to be walking on eggs.  Her emphatic agreement with BT's father showed she was more familiar with his anger than just one or two instances.  I was sorry it didn't work for them.  They looked great together.  But, overall, I think it was for the best.  The fact that he was unaware she had any of these feelings (while Brandon, who had his mind on TT, could see that she did) is alone indicative that he wasn't ready.

And, oh that Alex.  She really is a you-know-what, isn't she?

[Big Mother]

1 hour ago, peach said:

You know, I forgot her name.  I'll have to ask again.  She was the former Miss Missouri, long blonde hair.  I don't watch Survivor, except for her portion, and unfortunately, the only thing I remember was she was in that group floating in a lagoon or something, saying they "were the cool kids."

LOL that was Hope. She didnt make it very far in her season.

[peach]

52 minutes ago, Big Mother said:

LOL that was Hope. She didnt make it very far in her season.

Hope!  Ha!  Yes, that's it.  She didn't get the best edit, herself.  lol  Her aunt is super cool, I will say.  :)

[peach]

Lindsey finally spills it. 

Summary:  Amazing journey, etc., but he didn't want a serious relationship after they got back, and she's okay with it all now, but she did feel a little misled because he seemed ready to give it 100% when they left in the helicopter.  These two actually live not too far from each other, but they've only seen each other once since they returned, and even trying to be friends has been "rocky," according to her.  I think he just wants to be single. 

My charitable opinion is that he did care enough about her not to fly off and leave her standing alone on a beach on national TV.  Plus the sudden separation the night before meant no final convo and goodbyes.  A more cynical interpretation could be he didn't want to be the guy who did that on national tv.  But I think he wanted to leave the island together, even if he was going to break up with her.  She's emotional in the video after having relived all her memories watching the show.  I feel for her, but he's not the guy for her if he wants to run around in his band.  I think she's genuinely sweet and caring, and hopefully she will find a good man ready for a future.

Edited August 5, 2016 by peach

[Big Mother]

Thanks for the update. My cynical view on the matter is that he was recruited to be on the show and was ready to enjoy a good and fun fling but had zero plans to continue on with whoever it would be. Lindsey was smart for guarding her heart but I can see why it was so hurtful and difficult for her. In my opinion, no one should come on this show with ulterior motives. They shoudnt be recruiting z-list actors, z-list singers, etc for this. (Taylor hart is an actor; I was shocked to see him briefly in an early episode of The Mindy Project!). They  need to find real people who really want to find love, like Brandon. Ugh.

[Big Mother]

WOW I had been wondering when this was taped - LAST MARCH! that is a looooong time ago; if Brandon & TT and Lisa & Ben are still together, that is incredible, it's six months later!

[adhoc]

Quote

They shoudnt be recruiting z-list actors, z-list singers, etc for this. (Taylor hart is an actor; I was shocked to see him briefly in an early episode of The Mindy Project!). They  need to find real people who really want to find love, like Brandon. Ugh

I've read Reality Steve's observations (he spoils the Bachelor franchise) for several years now, and I think it's safe to say that for "dating" shows like Coupled, The Bachelor, and so on, the vast majority of contestants are recruited via headshots or other info sent to the shows by agents and publicists. Very few --despite public "casting calls"--seem to be recruited from the teeming masses. TPTB are basically interested in recruiting attractive people (and if not downright attractive, then famous or semi-famous or related to someone famous, like The Bachelor's Jordan Rodgers, brother of Aaron Rodgers) who don't have STDs, as far as I can tell.

On The Bachelor, I think they do have a psychologist who in theory does some mental health vetting, but if you look at what happens on some of these shows, you'd question that. (Of course, it's no coincidence that these types of shows provide lots of alcohol for show participants. And once the alcohol is flowing, some of these people do the most embarrassing and disgusting things.) I've come to the conclusion that it's not about finding contestants who have depth, intelligence, or anything outside of being attractive. And, hey if you are attractive and also have a forceful or strong personality, or you're already "camera savvy", so much the better.  

Contestants are lured by the idea of getting the chance to promote their brand, their name, their show biz career, or their company to a wide audience.  (Of course, I bet almost anyone trying to get on these shows would probably have that as a motive, even if they didn't have a publicist or agent.) Most of them are not there to find love or whatever. It's a free vacation (hopefully to a nice exotic place!) and some exposure/publicity.  Look at any contestant's background these days. "Musician". "Radio host".  "Entrepreneur (read: I want exposure for my company)".  "Former Beauty Queen". 

These shows couldn't care less if anyone finds love. Just my 2 cents.

Edited August 5, 2016 by adhoc

[Sayla Vee]

16 minutes ago, adhoc said:

I've read Reality Steve's observations (he spoils the Bachelor franchise) for several years now, and I think it's safe to say that for "dating" shows like Coupled, The Bachelor, and so on, the vast majority of contestants are recruited via headshots or other info sent to the shows by agents and publicists. Very few --despite public "casting calls"--seem to be recruited from the teeming masses. TPTB are basically interested in recruiting attractive people (and if not downright attractive, then famous or semi-famous or related to someone famous, like The Bachelor's Jordan Rodgers, brother of Aaron Rodgers) who don't have STDs, as far as I can tell.

 

The rub, for me, is that this recruiting is not only done for the dating shows, but for shows like Survivor and The Amazing Race as well.  For instance, the last two seasons of TAR have mostly been pulled from social media sites.  I know they think (at least I think that's the rationale) these people will bring in more viewers, but I haven't seen that working.  Most of the people I know long for the days when ordinary people were selected and we could join in vicariously on their experience. 

All of these shows are getting to be far less enjoyable in the wake of both the recruiting and the obvious scripting.  When did it become more exciting to see something that some 20-something production assistant thought up rather than the real reactions of real people.

[Dirtybubble]

Thanks for everybody who spilt the T about the couples.  Dang I was fooled about Alex and Lindsey.  They were the one couple I was hoping would make it.  Well nuts.  I kinda feel sorry for BT I can imagine all the cameras and chaos that goes along with reality tv is difficult for him (I'm a fan of Unreal so yikes if only half of that is true) BUT this is 2016 and reality tv is nothing new.  You must have some idea of the tom foolery that goes on behind the scenes.  Most contestants on these shows say they know about the manipulation but stay with it for exposure, possibility for fame, etc. etc. 

[Palomar]

Quote

 

It's not too surprising that Alex decided Jeffrey was not perfect enough for her.  Right from the beginning, she had check marks (Christian, right-wing politics obsessed, hopeless romantic) that any partner had to meet which is pretty unrealistic.  To be honest, I was surprised he wanted to remain with her (since it must have been clear how immature she was) but then again it appeared they had only been coupled up a few days. 

I feel for Ashley, but walking on egg shells is a hard life to lead no matter how much you care for someone.  Not everyone is cut out for that and there is no guarantee BT is willing to get the help he needs.  It is definitely a shame for both of them. 

I hoped Alex and Lindsey would have made it but he obviously went on the show for the "wrong reasons" even though he was a nice guy.

Loved TT and Brandon together and hope they make it.  Glad for Ben and Lisa even though it is a bit of a surprise.

Edited August 5, 2016 by Palomar

[PetuniaP]

It's funny, Ben and Lisa were the couple I doubted the most...the way they hooked up and shed their former partners was a bit distasteful and despite their obvious sexual chemistry, Ben seemed like he was in total "fling" mode and a young pretty girl fit the bill for filming. But as soon as her brother showed up and started talking about how she is the baby of the family and not at all independent, I immediately saw them working. No matter what they say, there is a decent contingent of men who want a dependent woman. Plus the fact that Lisa is 10 years younger was a massive point in her favor. I can see them being together for a long time, potentially even getting married from this experience. 

Good for Ashley in recognizing that BT is not the guy for her, despite powerful attraction. Watching his Facebook Live illuminated that he has serious anger issues and is in no way ready for a partnership that doesn't involve emotional abuse for the other person. He wants a woman that is happy when he wants to be happy, leaves him alone when he gets into his "moods" but not so alone that he feels neglected by her. Yeah, good luck with that, pal. 

I'm glad Alicia and Tyler are still friends...I didn't really like her at all but nice to know that she didn't just abandon him as shown. Both Alex and Jeff were among the most unpleasant people I have ever seen on a reality show and I'm glad to see the back of both of them. 

Edited August 6, 2016 by PetuniaP

[NutMeg]

Good on Ashley for bailing out on BT - guy has serious issues, it's not his fault, he too is a victim of his past, but he'll need a lady with serious dedication and abnegation if he wants to be catered for only when and how it's needed. Alternatively, he could lay off reality TV, work with a good therapist on his PTSD, and get ready to face the world. At least this experience has showed him, hopefully, that some ladies are into him from the get go, warts and all. I feel very sorry for Ashley, who was looking for something else than such a trauma.   

Lisa / Ben ? never saw it coming. With Lisa, I could only think like how much she looked like Mariel Hemingway in Manhattan that I got seriously distracted seeing her as just that. But then again, color me surprised that she (proactively) found a good match for herself. Good luck, you crazy kids :) 

The others? Meh, we'll see. I loved TT initially but ended up findind her annoying.  Same with her dude (forgot the name). So good luck to them, I guess?

[deSchenke]

I thought the show ended on a high note.  The episode prior to this one was such a snooze, I almost lost interest and didn't bother with this episode until last night.  I guess they wanted some sort of redemption arc for Alex.  I couldn't understand why she was allowed to say goodbye to Jeff.  I didn't think it was set up that way and with Alicia standing up Tyler the way she did, thought if Alex went to the beach she must be taking off in the helicopter.  It was interesting to read Alicia's blog to find out that she did say goodbye to Tyler but they didn't show that.

 

I didn't have much faith in Boy Alex and Lindsey.  They seemed happy enough to fly off together, but they both seemed tentative and reserved.  I'm not surprised it didn't last.

Happy to read Lisa and Ben are still together.  They did seem good for one another and I thought Lisa's brother/Ben's father were off the mark in their comments.  I really wanted them both to bug off.

I hope this gets picked up for another season.  It seemed more complex and real than the Bachelor.  And it seems to have a better success rate - almost like TPTB really wanted a show about relationships rather than putting folks in a ridiculous situation for the drama.

[adhoc]

So now that Ashley and BT have posted video chats on their Facebooks (I guess they just wanted to give fans some final "after the show" words), I went to Youtube, found the finale episode, and ff'd through it, only watching the BT/Ashley segments. (Yeah, that was the only thing about this show that perked my interest. But perk it it did.) And you kind of get a new perspective when you remove all the other stuff going on with other couples.

Assuming that things mainly happened in the sequence shown, my impression was that --anger management issues aside-- BT basically freaked out at the idea of having to make a serious commitment to Ashley, and that, as much as anything else, made him push her away as their time on the island was drawing to a close.

It was different with the other couples (say, Ben and Lisa) who could agree to enjoy each other's company during and even after the show with no commitment, no pressure. But it would be different with Ashley, who takes spending time with a guy seriously. In fact, when Terrence is talking to the guys, and BT indicates how significant it will be to be the only guy who will "have" Ashley (pause while I throw up a little) and then he mumbles something about how that might cause a guy to "put a ring on it" sooner rather than later, everyone laughed. But I think he suddenly realized what dating her would mean post-show. And he was not prepared for that level of seriousness, of commitment, or at least not so soon. (Understandable, after knowing someone a bare few weeks.)

Sure, just being an arm-chair psychologist here. But it would really explain why BT suddenly was all "maybe I need someone else, someone who's had some hardships in life".  I'd say he panicked.

JMO

Edited August 8, 2016 by adhoc

[call me ishmael]

7 hours ago, deSchenke said:

 

I thought the show ended on a high note.  The episode prior to this one was such a snooze, I almost lost interest and didn't bother with this episode until last night.  I guess they wanted some sort of redemption arc for Alex.  I couldn't understand why she was allowed to say goodbye to Jeff.  I didn't think it was set up that way and with Alicia standing up Tyler the way she did, thought if Alex went to the beach she must be taking off in the helicopter.  It was interesting to read Alicia's blog to find out that she did say goodbye to Tyler but they didn't show that.

 

I thought that the ending was ridiculous to be honest.  They had obviously turned it into the Alex show (and she was one of the least enjoyable of the contestants to watch I thought).  At first i thought it was bad that they had let Alex break the rules to go down to the beach.  But the fact that they chose to show Alex going down and explaining why she couldn't get on the helicopter after making Alicia look like a selfish and uncaring person for apparently going off on the boat without letting Tyler know was even worse than I expected.  I suppose that is what happens when you put someone who only watches Fox onto a show on the Fox network.  She is bound to be the heroine.