Season 4 Discussion

[Brooklynista]

So they're going to show the scene of Nicole abusing Azan by slamming him against the van, but no questions to her about hurting this man she loves so much? Mkay then.

[spankydoll]

Nicole's Mom can throw shade like Prince. Love her! 

Someone slip the domestic abuse hotline number to Jorge. Can he even sell legal weed with a criminal record? Isn't it like a liquor license? Marky Mark is STILL trying to get people to forget that he smashed that shop owners face in until he was blind sonthstbthe wahlburger joint can serve alcohol. 

Edited November 21, 2016 by spankydoll

[liammaam]

Holy shit, I love Robbalee.  She has HAD. IT.  

Edited November 21, 2016 by liammaam

[Cranky One]

Pedro is totally intrigued with the Jorfe/Anfisa shit show.

Anfisa can't handle the truth. I'm guessing she thought people were just enthralled with her and found her charming . 

Edited November 21, 2016 by Cranky One

[Adeejay]

The Tell All is excruciating.  It is so awkward and boring.  Way too much Jorge/Anfisa and Nicole/Azan.  It's more like a recap show.  Clearly, they don't have enough material for two hours. 

[Maggienolia]

Ugh. Train wreck to end a train wreck.

[IvySpice]

Quote

Lowo is young?

Yeah, he's 28 according to the show site. Unless you're in college, that's young.

Quote

Nicole saw the cute puppy in the window and she WANTS it.  No matter that she's told it will grow to be enormous and will present a possible danger to her child and costs way more than she can afford; she WANTS it because it's cute and it licked her

Nailed it.

[liammaam]

LOL oh my gawd the silence is sooooo awkward, but the pan to each cast member's face was hilarious.

[Brooklynista]

I can say I've done some vindictive shit to men in my day, but in my old age I'm really not appreciating the way these antics by these women are being trivialized. 

Would it be cute if Pedro keyed the car of Chantel? Or if Matt threw Allan against a car?  I don't think it would be taken so lightly.

Saying that, I apologize to the Ex of mine that had a rock mysteriously thrown through his back window. 

[Standard Staples]

This season is actually pretty sad.  Although each of them has a different personality, it's painfully obvious everyone is in this for a green card (Pedro seeming to be the possible exception).

Anfisa looks like Morticia Addams, and they clearly didn't just get a bad edit.

This tell all show is really a disaster.  They had so little material, they had to burn 10 seconds having the host tell Azan to pull his mic away from his mouth.

Edited November 21, 2016 by Standard Staples

[spankydoll]

I think this is fascinating. The Jorge and Nicole romances are fascinating. 

I thought that Anfisa's answer to the describe your husband question was going to be idiot. 

Edited November 21, 2016 by spankydoll

[liammaam]

Final thought for now:  Alla is just a beautiful soul, inside and out.

[ExplainItAgain]

Alla is just so adorable.

[Bunnygirl]

1 hour ago, Brooklynista said:

She really is awful. She was just as bad as reunion host for My Big Fat Fab Life.

She WAS the host for MBFFL! Lol!

[Bunnygirl]

1 hour ago, Brooklynista said:

She really is awful. She was just as bad as reunion host for My Big Fat Fab Life.

My apologies, I misread your post.

[annewithaneee]

So, I'm watching the finale while also working on a writing project, and as I'm listening to Pedro I think oh shit, my Spanish, which I last studied in like 2007 or so, is still that good that I understand him perfectly!?! And then I realized dude was speaking English, and it's been a long fucking day and I might have a half a brain cell left.

This tell-all is more obnoxious and frustrating than the other ones, and maybe it's because this season has the most being lost in translation? Or at least, literally every couple - even the Americans of the duos - have less than zero charisma, and they're all really cagey or they genuinely don't understand basic questions (again, putting equal if not more blame on those who speak English as their first language as well as the foreign fiances). 

So, this whole season I've been Team Anfisa in that she is a cold-blooded monster of a filler-obsessed woman but she is incredibly straight-forward about her game and taking down an odious toad of a human being who seemed to be in this to possess and control a trophy. But in the reunion, I sort of think she's genuinely misunderstood? Like, she was making really legit points, a little defeated by her shitty, snitty attitude. But she's clearly pissed about the edit and couldn't quite articulate that that was it - it kind of got spun into "social media = bad" - and I nearly cheered when she said yes, I'm here for your money, and you're here for my titties, right? 

I think in the end I can't figure out what to think of them. Maybe this is a dom/sub kink that is being stupidly twisted into some sort of romantic and sexual relationship (like, it would be so much better for Jorge to leave this shit in the hands of a professional). Or maybe they're doing this for TV; it kind of seems like Season Three would be the tipping point where couples were getting engaged just to get cast. Or maybe Jorge really is as pathetic as he seems? Honestly, if it's option number three then he might qualify for a Britney Spears or Amanda Bynes style conservatorship, because his judgement is fuuuucked to a disordered degree. 

Alla is the only person in this entire season that I liked. I call bullshit on her saying she didn't know anyone who married just for a green card - they met on one of those dating/letter-writing sites, right? Even if they didn't, I really doubt she doesn't know at least one woman who has been on one - but otherwise I thought she was very poised and kind. It almost tugged on my heartstrings to see her and Anfisa having their conversation in Russian; once she was free of the language barrier, suddenly her emotions came out, and while a lot of it was overly generous towards Anfisa I thought it was really great of her.

I wish I remembered her name, it's floated right out of my head - again, I processed Pedro's English as Spanish and was awed at my sudden, miraculous fluency, it's not my night - but the hostess's cleavage really distracted me. I don't want to body-shame here; it was the choice of an intense push-up bra that bugged me, not her shape itself. If the cleave makes her feel pretty, great, but if I were really petite and had small breasts, I would wear deep necklines and cutouts without mashing the girls together, showing off a swath of sternum. I just couldn't stop staring at her neckline!

[liammaam]

13 minutes ago, Northernlights said:

Was there ever the chair throwing scene that was advertised at the beginning of the season with Matt and Alla?  Did I really miss that??

I was just thinking that!  I don't recall that, either- other than the previews.  Also... where was Narkiya?  Just because they didn't end up together, she was left out of the tell-all?  

[Trace]

2 hours ago, CofCinci said:

I figure Patrick has been the one to pick Matt up off the floor or talk him off the ledge with his prior divorces.

 

Does Jorge have grow lights in his SUV as they drive to their wedding?

My brother was a huge pot head. I thought they were irrigation pipes.

[steff13]

Holy cow was that awkward!  I felt bad for Anfisa towards the end.  

As an aside, if she wants money she should sue the doctor who did her breast implants - they look awful, and I bet they feel worse. 

[Snewtsie]

Why oh why are there so many coffee tables on the reunion set?

[steff13]

Maybe they were hoping Jorge and Anfisa would get mad and start destroying them? 

[Virtually Me]

14 minutes ago, Snewtsie said:

Why oh why are there so many coffee tables on the reunion set?

I noticed that, too!  I was also wondering why there were "books" on them, like it was meant to create an intelligent atmosphere.

[Real Eyes]

1 hour ago, Standard Staples said:

This season is actually pretty sad.  Although each of them has a different personality, it's painfully obvious everyone is in this for a green card (Pedro seeming to be the possible exception).

Anfisa looks like Morticia Addams, and they clearly didn't just get a bad edit.

This tell all show is really a disaster.  They had so little material, they had to burn 10 seconds having the host tell Azan to pull his mic away from his mouth.

I disagree that they are all in it for a green card.

Moscow is not exactly a third world country.  I see affection between Anfisa and Jorge.  I doubt she was looking for a green card.

Similarly, I don't think Alla married Matt for a green card.  I think she is happy to be in the US, but I get the impression she didn't marry the first American man she met.

I think there could have been a lot on the tell all.  The interviewer is not great.  Had they had a better one, the segment could have been very lively.

[millennium]

3 hours ago, liammaam said:

Do you love me?  Do you really love me?  How much?  Like, how much?  

*tee hee*

I felt like an utter failure as I sat watching that shit on my TV.   Horrified that the sum of all my experiences, my education, my years on this planet had made me a witness to this.   Had I been standing on the edge of a precipice, I do believe I would have leaned in.

[Ivanova]

Matt was drinking orange juice at the rehearsal dinner - is there a chance he has a problem with alcohol? Cause during the bachelor party you could tell he was pretty buzzed, like drunk almost...

I'm curious if he's going to pay for Max's education, his family will probably be against it.

I think Alla's sister is married - or did they say she is a single mother too? If she's married and doing well financially, this explains the fact that she got the tourist visa. The only way she can be united with Alla is if they wait for about 15 years to get a relative petition approved (during which time Irina most probably will not be allowed in the US), or if she too marries some one on a K1, or if they are religious (and it seems like they are), there are ways to get in through the Baptist church (that's how lots of Ukrainians come to the US).

Interesting thing about Anfisa is that she seems to be who she claims to be - a 20 year old (although a lot of people seem to not believe it). I searched for her name and found it mentioned on the website of Moscow Institute of Linguistics. There's an article about a professor from Spain who was meeting with the students and Anfisa was among a few he said spoke Spanish very well. I may be wrong, but I think her family situation may be something like this: a mother who runs some kind of business, father is not present (or only helps financially), the daughter is raised mostly by the grandma, and the mom feels so guilty about being busy all the time that she gives her daughter anything she wants including plastic surgery.

[Snewtsie]

1 minute ago, Virtually Me said:

I noticed that, too!  I was also wondering why there were "books" on them, like it was meant to create an intelligent atmosphere.

Maybe the books are there in case Anfisa and Jorge feel the need to start throwing things, and the coffee tables are there so the other couples can prop them sideways and use them as shields.

[Virtually Me]

It's over now, right?  This was it until Season 5, right?  I don't think I'm going to watch season 5. 

[magemaud]

Well, that's two hours of my life (I'm including the fast forwarding) that I'll never get back. Just some random thoughts about the whole evening...

The host was almost nonchalant when she said, "Unfortunately, Narkyia and Lowo couldn't be with us tonight..." HUH? I think they owe the viewers more of an explanation than that! Why did they start the season late and also not appear at the reunion? Narkyia's son was adorable but I couldn't help but think his hair looked like a swatch of shag carpet on his head. And for goodness sake, get that boy a "Big Brother." I'm sure nearby Harrisburg has a chapter. 

Anfisa's white makeup and black dress really did make her look like Morticia Addams. Her white wedding dress made me think she was joining some kind of cult. Thanks to whoever identified those pipes in Jorge's car as grow lights. I'm just naive about these things. I suspect the reasons for their big arguments that Anfisa wouldn't talk about have something to do with his pot growing and or smoking. I call bullshit on her not having rings. We saw Jorge pick out and PAY CASH for the engagement ring and the saleswoman told him it would be ready for pick up "tomorrow." Are we supposed to believe he just left it there and never went back? And I saw them exchange wedding rings at the courthouse. Were they rentals or something? 

Chantel looked wild eyed! Despite her claims, I don't see one ounce of improvement in Pedro's English. If anything, I thought her Spanish has improved! 

Nicole talking about maturity? And I loved Robbalee's comments that echoed everything that people have been saying about Nicole all season. I'll bet Azan was relieved when the live video feed went down. 

Alla was still the most sincere and likable for me all season, even though I think Matt is a doofus. I actually teared up when she explained things to Anfisa in their native language. 

I know I'll be tossing and turning tonight and thinking of all the things I meant to say here...Back in the morning! 

[millennium]

The Tell All.   Only ten minutes in I felt an obligation to apologize to others watching with me, followed by an offer to change the channel.    Delighting in my unease, nobody availed themselves of the remote.

It was pretty terrible.    It confirmed my suspicion that this show seeks out people with low IQs and zero self esteem.  Nothing is less interesting than a room full of stupid people.

Edited November 21, 2016 by millennium

[Virtually Me]

2 minutes ago, millennium said:

The Tell All.   Only ten minutes in I felt an obligation to apologize to others in the room, followed by an offer to change the channel.    Delighting in my unease, nobody availed themselves of the remote.

It was pretty terrible.    It confirmed my suspicion that this show seeks out people with low IQs and zero self esteem.  Nothing is less interesting than a room full of stupid people.

Worth repeating.

[Snewtsie]

The Tell All- I'm only one hour in, and feel I can die of boredom.

[Bunnygirl]

51 minutes ago, millennium said:

I felt like an utter failure as I sat watching that shit on my TV.   Horrified that the sum of all my experiences, my education, my years on this planet had made me a witness to this.   Had I been standing on the edge of a precipice, I do believe I would have leaned in.

I'll join you in your pit of self loathing and disgust.

[guilfoyleatpp]

1 hour ago, steff13 said:

Holy cow was that awkward!  I felt bad for Anfisa towards the end.  

As an aside, if she wants money she should sue the doctor who did her breast implants - they look awful, and I bet they feel worse. 

We were saying the same thing. They're like 90s bolt ons with the huge space in between.  Not an expensive job.

There were also times I was unsure whether or not Jorge and Anfisa were doing put ons and acting crazy to get more air time.

I don't know what this says about me, but probably nothing very good.

[bethster2000]

I've got some questions for all of you:

Do you love me?  Do you?  Do you?  How much do you love me?  How much?  HOW MUCH?  Do you love me *this much*?  Do you? 

[magemaud]

29 minutes ago, bethster2000 said:

Do you love me?  Do you?  Do you?  How much do you love me?  How much?  HOW MUCH?  Do you love me *this much*?  Do you? 

followed by child-like giggle into her chubby fists. I was expecting her to stretch her arms out "sooooooooo much" 

Edited November 21, 2016 by magemaud

[lovesnark]

I don't believe they 'lost' the feed with Azan. I think he hung up. My prediction is that Nicole will get tired of video chatting with Azan (when he bothers to answer) and it won't be long before she finds a local sucker to let her paw him all the time. And, that May will have a little brother or sister shortly thereafter.

Alla is just so sweet and kind!

I'm not quite sure what to think about Anfisa. To me, she seems to be an extremely damaged 20 year old kid who's pretending to be a tough ass grown up. I think there's a big part of her that would love to go back to Russia and hug her grandma.

[Christina]

I wish I had read this thread before suffering through that two hours waiting for it to improve. Shaun is an awful interviewer and the combined level of childishness on that stage may have actually made me dumber. 

I still can't muster sympathy for Anfisa (or Jorge). She's young, yes, but finds nothing wrong with her behavior and kept blaming her actions on Jorge. She is in love with money and will be gone the first time someone else flashes an expensive purse at her. She admits she is waiting for her Green Card. She admits she won't be there without money. She admits that she doesn't regret trashing his phone or keying his car. I think she expected that she would have attention from everyone, not just Jorge, and when that didn't happen, she became unhappy. Sorry, Anfisa. You are not all that and in fact, you are mean.

Seriously not watching another season of Nicole and Azan. Probably not watching another season anyway, but Nicole fills me with frustration and Azan needs to walk away. He doesn't like her, let alone love her, and at this point, she will not call it off so that leaves it up to him. 

Glad we didn't have to sit through Narkiya making excuses for Lowo. I am hopeful that she has called it off, but suspect she will be on next year, too. One of the internet rumors was that Lowo's Visa was denied and she appealed it. If that is true, hopefully it is just so she can squeak another few minutes of fame out of TLC and she is not really bringing that conman into her son's life. 

Chantel's hair looked nice tonight.

[Virtually Me]

Not that there is anything I'll put past this show anymore, but, I don't see how they can justify having Nic and Azan on next season.  The only option being that someone (her dad?) breaks down and choses to co-sponsor him.  It's a bit concerning that her mother is warming to the idea of them marrying.  What kool-aid is she drinking?

[jackjill89]

I have a really bad cold, so save for the time I was sleeping, I binge-watched the entire season yesterday. Holy crap, what a bunch of deluded human beings. Chantal's storyline about not telling her parents? That was just stupid. She is so immature. There is no way you can convince me that Nicole and Azan have one thing in common. Not one. Her voice alone would drive me insane. The fact that she wouldn't respect his culture was ridiculous. Also, how did she cheat on him? They had a phone relationship and she was with someone else? I didn't get that. Must have been while I was napping. Anfisa and Jorge? Dude, she hates you. Hates you. She will run the minute she gets her green card and never look back. Matt and Alla? I hope it works for the kid's sake. Again, there is definitely some delusion in Matt. He can't be alone. That stripper at his Bach party was so skanky. I'd be mad too. Yikes. Lowo and I'm so sorry I don't know her name, but she should have run after the first lie. I didn't realize they made people so dumb. 

My husband was in and out of the house doing yard work. He'd come in, get sucked in for awhile, shake his head at how stupid these people are and leave. Of course, he's the one that said we had to record the final episode because he wanted to see the tell all and The Walking Dead is on at the same time. Ha! I feel like we both lost a great deal of brain cells yesterday. 

[bichonblitz]

No way Anfisa is 20. No way. 

[ChaChaSlide]

Shaun is just not a strong interviewer, at least in the terms of reality show reunions. She's too dry. Kevin Frazier hosts the Little Women reunions, ad I think he does a better job, he asks questions that get the castmates going, and inserts zingers now and again.

[millennium]

5 hours ago, annewithaneee said:

 

So, this whole season I've been Team Anfisa in that she is a cold-blooded monster of a filler-obsessed woman but she is incredibly straight-forward about her game and taking down an odious toad of a human being who seemed to be in this to possess and control a trophy. But in the reunion, I sort of think she's genuinely misunderstood? Like, she was making really legit points, a little defeated by her shitty, snitty attitude. But she's clearly pissed about the edit and couldn't quite articulate that that was it - it kind of got spun into "social media = bad" - and I nearly cheered when she said yes, I'm here for your money, and you're here for my titties, right? 

In one of these episode threads this season, somebody observed that America is one of the few nations on earth where love is considered a prerequisite for marriage.

Alla doesn't seem to think love is necessary to get married.  She said maybe it will come later, maybe never.   Her priority seems to be establishing a safe and secure environment for herself and her son, which she apparently thinks she can get by marrying Matt.  (Personally, I believe the marriage is doomed to failure.   Other than Ross Geller, no man marries four times and makes the fourth one work.   I also surmise that Matt's mother -- and Matt's loyalty to his mother -- played a significant role in the failure of his other marriages.  She seems poised to interfere in this one too.)

Perhaps Anfisa has a regard for marriage similar to Alla's -- that it's a tradeoff.   T&A for creature comforts.  And maybe in the culture she comes from, it is an acceptable point of view.   She probably thinks all our fuss about her "using" Jorge is ridiculous.

Patrick was never going to object to the marriage.  So many tease the possibility, but no one ever makes good on the threat.  Besides, what would happen if he did object?   It's not like Matt would smack his forehead and go "What am I doing getting married?  I could have had a V8!"   

Edited November 21, 2016 by millennium

[millennium]

4 hours ago, magemaud said:

Thanks to whoever identified those pipes in Jorge's car as grow lights. I'm just naive about these things. I suspect the reasons for their big arguments that Anfisa wouldn't talk about have something to do with his pot growing and or smoking. I call bullshit on her not having rings. We saw Jorge pick out and PAY CASH for the engagement ring and the saleswoman told him it would be ready for pick up "tomorrow." Are we supposed to believe he just left it there and never went back? And I saw them exchange wedding rings at the courthouse. Were they rentals or something? 

 

Everything about Jorge is cheesy.   Meeting clients in parking lots of the dollar store.  All-cash business.   Teases the expensive wedding gown, then tries to foist a much cheaper one on her -- and she doesn't get even that.  Teases the rings, and never comes through.   Drives to his wedding with PVC piping in the car.   Says his bank account was "frozen" and that's why he almost missed the reunion.   I think he's shady as hell.

[LocalGovt]

So Pedro admits he understood "Chantal family" all along, and just played dumb.  Sigh.

Anfisa/Jorge -- there's not much left to say.  Except how embarrassing to have your wife tell everyone that you were "broke" and that's why you couldn't make the flight. And the smashed phones. And admitting that they basically have no control and resort to physical means to deal with it.  I was pretty amazed they even got married, what with that article we all read on here that said they didn't make it to the altar.  That's what I thought it said, anyway.

Alla -- wow. Her sister made is after all.   I figured the ultimate plan was to have her find a man to marry, and move to the US, too.  Maybe that happened at the wedding. 

Nicole -- she had remarkable poise for most of the night -- given her immaturity in times past. Or maybe it was just good editing.  I walked out of the room right around the time Azan's feed was lost, so I missed that.

[Landlord]

8 hours ago, Northernlights said:

How much do I love Max?!  That kid is freakin' awesome!!  I just adore him!!  What a great mom Alla must be to have such a great kid!!

I noticed first thing he did when entering "A touch of class/Elegance" is wipe his feet. I literally went "good boy" and wanted to hug him for doing it without being prompted to.

[Landlord]

6 hours ago, Snewtsie said:

Why oh why are there so many coffee tables on the reunion set?

I was hoping they would magically disappear once it came to light that J and A throw crap at one another during fights. 

[nlkm9]

am I the only person so terribly distracted by how Chantal speaks through clenched teeth? I noticed it 2 episodes ago and it is sooo annoying?

Its almost as if she practiced showing her teeth while talking to look pretty--very very distracting and I can barely listen to her. I hope someone else noticed.

[escapetoreality]

Didn't Azan make a comment indicating he has no job? Looks like he is just keeping his options open in case his fortunes fail to improve in the next two years.  Also the immigration lawyer seemed to endorse more in-person time. Funny that Nicole did not articulate any plan for a return visit (at least not before this show put me to sleep ...)

[Landlord]

14 minutes ago, escapetoreality said:

Didn't Azan make a comment indicating he has no job? Looks like he is just keeping his options open in case his fortunes fail to improve in the next two years.  Also the immigration lawyer seemed to endorse more in-person time. Funny that Nicole did not articulate any plan for a return visit (at least not before this show put me to sleep ...)

She said while asking her mother to co-sponsor Azan last week that she would return in December, and she would bring May. Because she could.

[LaChavalina]

5 hours ago, Christina said:

Glad we didn't have to sit through Narkiya making excuses for Lowo. I am hopeful that she has called it off, but suspect she will be on next year, too. One of the internet rumors was that Lowo's Visa was denied and she appealed it. If that is true, hopefully it is just so she can squeak another few minutes of fame out of TLC and she is not really bringing that conman into her son's life. 

Of course Lowo can't get a visa. He is a scammer, he has lied repeatedly about his past. I would hope that the U.S. government isn't buying his BS.... Hell, he's probably applied for a K-1 with different women before.

 

5 hours ago, Virtually Me said:

Not that there is anything I'll put past this show anymore, but, I don't see how they can justify having Nic and Azan on next season.  The only option being that someone (her dad?) breaks down and choses to co-sponsor him.  It's a bit concerning that her mother is warming to the idea of them marrying.  What kool-aid is she drinking?

I don't know what to think about this. It certainly doesn't feel like Azan has much interest in playing the long game with Nicole. If his priority is coming to the U.S., he's probably already casting his net elsewhere. I'm sure as a result of this show, he'll have his pick of Mo's castoffs ready to sponsor him. The only way I see him appearing again is if TLC actually is paying him to be on the series... But that presents a conflict of interest in getting the K-1 as well, right?

ETA:

Quote

Didn't Azan make a comment indicating he has no job? Looks like he is just keeping his options open in case his fortunes fail to improve in the next two years.

Youth unemployment is close to 20% in Morocco, and that's generally true of other countries in the region with high birth rates and stagnant economic growth. It was a major factor in the uprisings in Egypt and Tunisia, and is why so many young people want to leave the region.

Edited November 21, 2016 by LaChavalina