Divorce - General Discussion

[cpcathy]

I was simmering with rage that Frances barged into Jackie's house and told Jackie what she could and could not talk to her own stepson about!

[txhorns79]

6 hours ago, cpcathy said:

I was simmering with rage that Frances barged into Jackie's house and told Jackie what she could and could not talk to her own stepson about!

I kind of sympathized a little with Frances, at least over the simmering rage that can grow when you are angry and you want to speak to someone immediately about something important and they are not available for your call, so you get crazier and crazier and suddenly you are at their house yelling like a lunatic.  With Jackie, I think I would have told her to better consider her conversations about college, and direct whatever his name is back to his parents for further discussion.  

Having said that, I did love Jackie’s look of absolute fascination and amazement with Kathy’s crazy ass stories.   

[TV Diva Queen]

I forgot who or what Amy Sedaris was. Then when they mentioned the dad, I remembered a hospital scene from a couple seasons back. I love SJP and am only hanging in because of her...but I don’t see even that lasting long. This show is bad. 

[iMonrey]

I don't think the show is bad. In fact I think it has improved since its first season. I'm just not sure I understand what it's supposed to be about. It feels strangely unfocused.

[MBJ]

On 7/16/2019 at 1:08 PM, iMonrey said:

The subplot with Diane felt utterly superfluous. I really don't know why she's even on this show. 

Sing it....

What the heck did the grandfather character say to Diane at the end of the scene?  I rewound it like three times.  You couldn't have paid me to understand his garbled language.

On 7/16/2019 at 1:08 PM, iMonrey said:

Yes, although I can't remember if it was Season 1 or 2. Robert and Frances bonded over having to deal with her, it's what led to them sleeping together later that night. I do like Amy Sedaris, I have to admit she is pretty funny in this.

Also Frances made a BIG speech towards her (Kathy?) and said if she ever hurt Robert again she would hunt her down.  

Edited July 17, 2019 by Ms Blue Jay

[scrb]

1 hour ago, iMonrey said:

I don't think the show is bad. In fact I think it has improved since its first season. I'm just not sure I understand what it's supposed to be about. It feels strangely unfocused.

Originally I think they were going to draw out the divorce process, make it kind of vicious.  Robert was accusing her of having a gang bang in the pilot.

But they rebooted at the start of season 2 and season 3.

At this point I think they just want to provide some closure to these characters before bowing out.

Nick and Diane were suppose to be a parallel couple going through a stormy marriage as well.

But looks like they got rid of Nick for good and they didn't split and still have some relationship like Robert and Frances are apparently going to have.

Edited July 17, 2019 by scrb

[txhorns79]

51 minutes ago, scrb said:

Originally I think they were going to draw out the divorce process, make it kind of vicious.  Robert was accusing her of having a gang bang in the pilot.

But they rebooted at the start of season 2 and season 3.

I think you are right.  They seemed to have Robert and Frances gearing up for all out war in Season 1, then the entire thing was dropped for Season 2 and the tone of the show became much lighter. 

I will say I think they have completely wasted Talia Balsam on this show.  They give her so little to do. 

[TV Diva Queen]

22 hours ago, Ms Blue Jay said:

Sing it....

What the heck did the grandfather character say to Diane at the end of the scene?  I rewound it like three times.  You couldn't have paid me to understand his garbled language.

Also Frances made a BIG speech towards her (Kathy?) and said if she ever hurt Robert again she would hunt her down.  

Something along the lines of "got it in her size".  Molly Shannon was telling gramps to buy the girl the leather jacket she was trying to steal.

Also, in regard to them changing the tone of from season 1.  Are we all supposed to forget that Frances cheated on her hubby?  They all seemed to have forgotten, no one told me that I'm supposed to forget too.

[cpcathy]

I was thinking the same thing about the cheating. While watching all of Frances' hurt and quizzical looks to Robert and her new dude, I kept thinking, "Honey, you cheated on your husband, you have no right to be so wounded about him marrying someone else!"

[scrb]

They made Robert out to be a real douche though.

Telling thing was Frances said that when she came home and saw Robert's truck in the driveway, her heart sank.

He was preoccupied with going fishing for special salmon for Christmas by himself and so on.

The way he reacted to finding out about the cheating made him look awful.

Not that anything should have justified Frances' cheating, especially with Germaine who also turned out to be a douche -- though to his credit he'd create a great campy sitcom about vampires.

SJP really wanted THC in the role and must have had in mind his ability to come across unsympathetic, despite being the victim of infidelity.

But they did turn around the character.  Season 1 Robert wouldn't have misgivings about being a father again after seeing his graying image in the mirror.

[MBJ]

I only recently realized that both SJP and THC starred in "Smart People" together.  It's a 2008 movie.  It wasn't bad.

[Dance4Life]

I think they made a big mistake making the pregnant women bedridden.

It is so boring and uninteresting!

Prime Amazon shoutout.......merching much, too???  

I thought they were building something for the baby.

But, it was just a bed tray. WTF???

I agree!  Too much ‘Carrie’.  And, actors that already made cameos in SATC.

[iMonrey]

Quote

I was simmering with rage that Frances barged into Jackie's house and told Jackie what she could and could not talk to her own stepson about!

She was also rude to the guy with the dog on the leash. Hey, France: You're the one who wasn't watching where you were going because you were looking at your phone. Don't get all snippy with the guy just standing there walking his dog. 

[scrb]

Dinner party didn’t go so well because Nurse Jackie’s ex wanted to ask Frances out.

Dallas fires one of her patients because of redundant bullshit, in this case a grandfather killing himself.  She confesses that she doesn’t care any more.

Frances is pretending to care about the birds but she’s no birdwatcher.  So she leads an event looking on for the only birds which didn’t fly south for the winter?

Diane gives up on tampons and her standards by going out with the shoplifter’s grandpa?

[cpcathy]

Why did Frances move out of the house if they weren't going to sell it? Don't divorced people sell their houses to be able to afford their divorces?

I hate Frances so much.

[iMonrey]

It really does seem like the writing is tone-deaf to how badly Frances comes off half the time. I get that she's not really into birds and this job is just a stop-gap, but did she have to be so rude to the bird watchers? I don't care if she thinks they're weird for being interested in bird watching, she's in no position to insult them or complain about having to spend time with them. It appears the writers thought the "weirdo bird watchers" were fair game and, ha-ha-ha let's make fun of them. But to me Frances is the one who looked like a total jerk. I mean, there are weirder hobbies than bird watching.

And what was up with that improbable dinner party? How bad an idea was that in the first place anyway? Talk about awkward six ways til Sunday. Frances and Robert can be co-parents without trying to be Bob, Carol, Ted and Alice with their new significant others.

Edited July 23, 2019 by iMonrey

[MBJ]

And the kids are teenagers already.  Robert doesn't have to constantly ANNOUNCE to Jackie I MUST RUN EVERYTHING BY FRANCES.  They can just quietly communicate whenever need be and their SOs don't have to know SO MUCH about it.  Phone or email. Whatever. There's so many ways.

But the whole thing here is just to create chaos between Robert and Frances and their new, hotter, younger SOs.  Maybe so they gravitate back towards each other by the time of the finale.

It was soooooooooo stupid for Henry to care that some guy asked out Frances.  Is he 12?  I assume the actor's like, 40.  That's insane. Who would care about that!?

Edited July 25, 2019 by Ms Blue Jay

[msrachelj]

On 7/23/2019 at 2:10 PM, iMonrey said:

It really does seem like the writing is tone-deaf to how badly Frances comes off half the time. I get that she's not really into birds and this job is just a stop-gap, but did she have to be so rude to the bird watchers? I don't care if she thinks they're weird for being interested in bird watching, she's in no position to insult them or complain about having to spend time with them. It appears the writers thought the "weirdo bird watchers" were fair game and, ha-ha-ha let's make fun of them. But to me Frances is the one who looked like a total jerk. I mean, there are weirder hobbies than bird watching.

And what was up with that improbable dinner party? How bad an idea was that in the first place anyway? Talk about awkward six ways til Sunday. Frances and Robert can be co-parents without trying to be Bob, Carol, Ted and Alice with their new significant others.

Frances is a bitch. Amateur bird watcher here! She is rude and things she is above others. 

[scrb]

So penultimate episode.

Robert trying to cockblock everyone, falls asleep.  But Frances decides she can't go through with it.

Meanwhile Jackie back at home is brooding, accusing Robert of still wanting Frances.  Guess they didn't have any other story ideas for her, so they let her be confined to bed most of the season and then be the jealous new gf.

Diane just has to fuck grandpa for a fabulous apt.  She tempted.

Dallas looks like is going to face having her therapist license stripped.  Because she fired that patient?

[Perfect Xero]

I dropped HBO so I haven't watched this season, have they done anything of note with the kids this season?

[txhorns79]

10 hours ago, scrb said:

Dallas looks like is going to face having her therapist license stripped.  Because she fired that patient?

I was a little confused about the storyline.  The preview for next week made it seem like she's in real danger of losing her license, but that seems like a pretty extreme consequence for the complaint she received. 

And maybe I'm just old, but if we had engaged in that kind of destruction at a hotel during a school trip, the police would have been called, we would have been suspended and our parents would have had to pay for the damage.  I mean, I don't even understand how the kids were allowed to engage in that kind of destruction without the hotel staff getting involved.         

[TV Diva Queen]

10 hours ago, txhorns79 said:

I was a little confused about the storyline.  The preview for next week made it seem like she's in real danger of losing her license, but that seems like a pretty extreme consequence for the complaint she received. 

And maybe I'm just old, but if we had engaged in that kind of destruction at a hotel during a school trip, the police would have been called, we would have been suspended and our parents would have had to pay for the damage.  I mean, I don't even understand how the kids were allowed to engage in that kind of destruction without the hotel staff getting involved.         

It was ridiculous. Not in a million years would that happen. That’s not how it works....

[MBJ]

SJP got fillers, or something?  Her mouth is really different and distracting.

THC is so funny.  I wonder what he'll do after this show.  I really like his comic sensibility.  I know it's the writers' doing, but his delivery is great.

[iMonrey]

Quote

I dropped HBO so I haven't watched this season, have they done anything of note with the kids this season?

Nope. I had to look their names up, they're so superfluous. Tom said he didn't want to go to college - that's the "big story" with him this season. Lila is functionally a prop.

I've gotten a few laughs out of the show here and there but boy, it sure seems aimless.

The conversation Frances had with Henry last week seemed too vague for her to go jumping into bed with Jeremy. If she had the maturity of a 20-year old she'd get some clarity from Henry exactly where they stand instead of pouting and acting out. Not that he was much better, the way he reacted to the fact that she simply hadn't told him someone else asked her out. Big deal. She said no thanks, I'm seeing someone. Was she supposed to report that back to him? Yuck. Neither one is fit for a serious relationship. 

[love2lovebadtv]

On 7/10/2019 at 2:11 PM, iMonrey said:

SJP's hair is really a mess. Somebody please tell me that's not considered stylish. It's brown from the roots to about six inches down then straw-like blonde the rest of the way. It looks terrible. 

Her hair doesn't bother me but I can't figure out why she keeps wearing her eye makeup like that. It's unattractive. 

On 7/12/2019 at 8:53 PM, Lifesabeach said:

Watched S1; pretty good.  S2; Ok, S3 good so far.

wondering, where did the sexy bf come from?

He played sexy companion to another recent divorcee on another show about divorce I just finished watching. 

On 7/31/2019 at 9:26 AM, Ms Blue Jay said:

SJP got fillers, or something?  Her mouth is really different and distracting.

THC is so funny.  I wonder what he'll do after this show.  I really like his comic sensibility.  I know it's the writers' doing, but his delivery is great.

I liked his sense of humor on wings, too

Edited August 3, 2019 by love2lovebadtv
Typo

[MBJ]

37 minutes ago, love2lovebadtv said:

He played sexy companion to another recent divorcee on another show about divorce I just finished watching.

I know the actor who plays Henry from

"The Good Girls" - he's a detective
"New Adventures of Old Christine" - he briefly dates Wanda Sykes.

Posters have mentioned other shows he's from too.  But I forget those.

38 minutes ago, love2lovebadtv said:

I liked his sense of humor on wings, too

I think I should try this show again.  

[scrb]

Well they just kind of went out with a whimper.

Frances and Robert both break up with their partners, they’re going to share custody.  No word on the son and college.

Diane gets the sugar daddy but doesn’t answer the knock and Dallas is adopting to get rid of her empty nest blues.

Life goes on?  Yawn ...

[Corgi-ears]

2 hours ago, scrb said:

No word on the son and college.

The son got into, and has presumably decided to go to college after all: when the family was sitting in the diner near the end, that's what the letter they opened was meant to convey. It was a letter of acceptance from a college, addressed to Tom.

[iMonrey]

So, that show happened. But why?

This was such a strange ending. From what I can remember, Robert will not be able to afford that big house all on his own. I have no idea what the point was of having him break up with Jackie if this was the last show.

I sort of got the impression they didn't think this would be the series finale until after they had filmed it.

[ECM1231]

Didn't realize this was the season and series finale. I must have missed that Dallas was planning on adopting. Mr. ECM talks to me throughout our TV viewing which drives me insane as it's hard to pay attention.

Anywho...SOMEBODY, ANYBODY,  please fill me in on a few deets as I feel fairly lost this season and I only missed the very first episode.

Season 2 was all about Frances and Robert navigating their divorce. Frances opened the art gallery, Robert met Jackie, began a work relationship with her which blossomed into romance.

I remember Frances discovered this amazing up and coming reluctant artist, showcased her work, only to have the client poached by some famous art gallery owner from NYC.

Okay, so here is what I DON'T UNDERSTAND: 

1. Why is Frances no longer working/owning her art gallery? Was this addressed?

2. Who are these people and organization that she works for, with the birds? How did she meet them?

3. She mentioned living in Inwood. She no longer has a place in Hastings besides the family home she and Robert shared? Last year the art gallery was in her hometown or close by, not in Manhattan. So it seems off  that she is now living in a NYC neighborhood, Inwood. 

4. Did the first episode mention that Diane's husband went to prison for embezzlement?  Last night's episode was the first I was hearing this and I wondered why Tracy Letts was MIA all season. I guess that is why Diane took the job at that department store.

5. Was new boyfriend Henry introduced in the first episode also? I don't remember him from that year. 

It's possible that I missed a few episodes in season 2 but I really don't think so. Unless this all went down in the very first season 3 episode, I don't know where I have been. LOL

TIA for any answers given.

[scrb]

Yeah they rebooted this season and dropped most of those things, like the art gallery, the artist, etc.

Seems like they didn't really want to continue with a lot of those story lines so they started fresh.

Though I think they had to come up with a small arc for Diane and Dallas to give those characters closure.

I don't know why in the finale they decided suddenly to make both Robert and Frances single.  Did they want to end with the possibility of them getting back together?

That would be a horrible outcome.

[Surrealist]

I missed the idea that Dallas is adopting a child. I assumed she was planning on using her counseling skills to help foster kids.

Edited August 6, 2019 by Surrealist

[scrb]

Guess her real son went away to college and doesn't give her the time of day.

But she wants to adopt someone 10-16 -- and the adoption person says kids that age can be trouble.

So she wants to feel empty nest again in 5-10 years?

Edited August 6, 2019 by scrb

[iMonrey]

ECM1231: They never explained why Frances's art gallery went belly-up. I assume she just never made a good enough profit from it after losing that up-and-coming artist she discovered. We saw her in S3E1 closing the now-empty gallery. She took the job with the bird sanctuary people because it was the only thing she could find. She was just out interviewing for jobs, we saw clips of her interviewing at various places before she wound up at this place. Don't know how she heard about it - same as the others she interviewed for, presumably. She was under the impression it had something to do with art when she showed up for it.

She also presumably met Henry sometime in the interim between S2 and S3 because we never saw them meet, they were already dating when S3 started.

Diane went to see her husband in prison back in S3E1 as well. He was hauled off to prison last season so we already knew about that.

[scrb]

I think it burned down and she didn't have insurance?

I guess they just didn't want her to talk about art any more so they just found a way to get rid of it, never speak of her supposed passion for art any more.

[Corgi-ears]

We learned that Frances' gallery burned down between Seasons 2 and 3. That was the reveal in this season's opening episode, called "Charred." 

[IslandGirl]

On 7/23/2019 at 10:19 AM, cpcathy said:

Why did Frances move out of the house if they weren't going to sell it? Don't divorced people sell their houses to be able to afford their divorces?

During my divorce, we rented our home out for a few years. I know other couples who've done that too.

On 7/30/2019 at 7:26 PM, txhorns79 said:

I was a little confused about the storyline.  The preview for next week made it seem like she's in real danger of losing her license, but that seems like a pretty extreme consequence for the complaint she received. 

I think she was in danger, until that client said, "Slut!"; at that moment he lost all credibility & proved to be unstable in my opinion.

16 hours ago, scrb said:

Diane gets the sugar daddy but doesn’t answer the knock and Dallas is adopting to get rid of her empty nest blues.

I brayed like a donkey when she quietly locked the door, then gleefully flung herself into bed.

I think Dallas grew tired of listening to 3rd world upper middle class problems, & quit her private practice to become a counselor/social worker to foster kids ages 10-16. I do not see her character looking to adopt, but rather to make a real difference for people with real problems...

[scrb]

2 minutes ago, IslandGirl said:

I think Dallas grew tired of listening to 3rd world upper middle class problems, & quit her private practice to become a counselor/social worker to foster kids ages 10-16. I do not see her character looking to adopt, but rather to make a real difference for people with real problems...

But that wouldn't pay the bills.

Anyways, she fought to retain her license, presumably to continue seeing clients.

[txhorns79]

It was an okay finale.  I liked Frances asserting some control over her workplace.  I didn't really care about Robert and Jackie's break up, as there were no real stakes and it wasn't particularly developed.  It was nice to see Robert and Frances in a good place.

As to Diane, I hope she knows the deal with the devil she has made.  My guess is the guy isn't going to take too kindly to situations where she ignores his knocking. 

[ECM1231]

3 hours ago, iMonrey said:

ECM1231: They never explained why Frances's art gallery went belly-up. I assume she just never made a good enough profit from it after losing that up-and-coming artist she discovered. We saw her in S3E1 closing the now-empty gallery. She took the job with the bird sanctuary people because it was the only thing she could find. She was just out interviewing for jobs, we saw clips of her interviewing at various places before she wound up at this place. Don't know how she heard about it - same as the others she interviewed for, presumably. She was under the impression it had something to do with art when she showed up for it.

She also presumably met Henry sometime in the interim between S2 and S3 because we never saw them meet, they were already dating when S3 started.

Diane went to see her husband in prison back in S3E1 as well. He was hauled off to prison last season so we already knew about that.

THANK YOU!!! Apparently this season's first episode explained a lot and it is the only one I missed.

[iMonrey]

Quote

I brayed like a donkey when she quietly locked the door, then gleefully flung herself into bed.

Yeah but her tenure in that apartment will be short-lived if she continues to spurn his advances. That was part of the deal, the main one in fact as far as he was concerned. This story seemed especially open-ended for a series finale. 

[TV Diva Queen]

On 8/3/2019 at 6:44 PM, Ms Blue Jay said:

I know the actor who plays Henry from

"The Good Girls" - he's a detective
"New Adventures of Old Christine" - he briefly dates Wanda Sykes.

Posters have mentioned other shows he's from too.  But I forget those.

I think I should try this show again.  

he played Holly Peete's husband in some sitcom years ago.

[MBJ]

On 8/6/2019 at 1:45 PM, ECM1231 said:

1. Why is Frances no longer working/owning her art gallery? Was this addressed?

5. Was new boyfriend Henry introduced in the first episode also? I don't remember him from that year. 

Frances couldn't deal with the art world anymore after discovering and nurturing a dormant artist, only to have that artist snatched by a rich museum guy.

She applied to the birds job to do anything different.

Henry was NEVER introduced.  He just showed up in Season 3 (Episode 1?) and all of us were like ???????  It would have been nice to see how they met.  We were properly introduced to Jackie.

On 8/6/2019 at 2:55 PM, Surrealist said:

I missed the idea that Dallas is adopting a child. I assumed she was planning on using her counseling skills to help foster kids.

I thought she was being a high school guidance counselor, LOL I think I'm wrong though.

23 hours ago, IslandGirl said:

I think she was in danger, until that client said, "Slut!"; at that moment he lost all credibility & proved to be unstable in my opinion.

Thank you.  I couldn't believe that's what the actor said.  I couldn't believe he'd say something so incredibly stupid.

Edited August 7, 2019 by Ms Blue Jay

[IslandGirl]

On 8/7/2019 at 9:43 AM, iMonrey said:

Yeah but her tenure in that apartment will be short-lived if she continues to spurn his advances. That was part of the deal, the main one in fact as far as he was concerned. This story seemed especially open-ended for a series finale. 

That could well be IMONREY, but I prefer to think he's met his match, & she will somehow either continue to lock him out & get away with it (redefining their relationship on HER terms), or legitimately end up falling in love with him & then finally unlocking the door. Her character strikes me as too self-involved/self-important to be anybody's bitch! ;-) I feel like she'd move out & give it all up before resorting to that...

20 hours ago, Ms Blue Jay said:

I couldn't believe that's what the actor said.  I couldn't believe he'd say something so incredibly stupid.

MS BLUE JAY, I couldn't believe it either! Guess he really did still need therapy! ;-) 
 

Edited August 8, 2019 by IslandGirl
...because writing is in the editing...

[evansmom10]

On 8/3/2019 at 4:44 PM, Ms Blue Jay said:

I know the actor who plays Henry from

"The Good Girls" - he's a detective
"New Adventures of Old Christine" - he briefly dates Wanda Sykes.

Posters have mentioned other shows he's from too.  But I forget those.

I think I should try this show again.  

Girlfriend's Guide too!

[Corgi-ears]

Some interesting comments from T. H. Church regarding Divorce's shift in tone between seasons, as part of an AV Club interview about his roles over the years:

Quote

It’s funny because the first season was exactly what we wanted to do. Unfortunately, it was not what the audience wanted us to do, and HBO has to respond to the consumer, to the audience. So there was, as you noted, a tonal shift to the second season, and this year is just really a continuation of that. It’s like, “Let’s make [Sarah Jessica Parker’s character] Frances more likable, let’s make the stories more hopeful…”

Quote

But after we finished shooting [Season 1] and it had been tested and tested and tested, we even had to reshoot a few things that the test audiences were like, “What?” Or just thought it was just too ugly to watch. You do that on movies, but I wasn’t familiar with doing it on TV. But that was like, “Okay, this may not be everybody’s favorite stout lager. Maybe they’re not up for this. They’re up for a light chardonnay.” And when the critic reviews came in and the audience was just like, “Eh. Yeah, it wasn’t what we thought it was going to be at all.” That’s also largely because of SJ’s branding. Nobody really saw that coming, however many years after Sex And The City went off the air. Nobody thought that the audience was going to be that resistant to seeing her in this kind of darker, comically at-times-unlikable character.

Quote

So really, for the survival of the show, we had to change and just tell much more lighthearted, uplifting stories. And you know what? That’s all right. It’s all right. I did some shows that I really liked, particularly the “Ohio” show, and then this season, we just kind of stayed with that, but we pretty much knew it was going to end. Because of the [six-episode] order, and we knew that the ratings, they just weren’t what HBO had hoped. But those shows that we did, including the very last one, those were exactly the way that I wanted them to be.

[scrb]

Interesting and not surprising.

Yeah they wanted to be first minimally civil and then good co-parents.

I guess if not for SJP, they might have killed it sooner.

[Gem 10]

Just tuned in for the first time this season.  Does anyone else think SJP’s hair looks horrible?  Parted in the middle as usual, and way too long and stringy.  The same look year after year, and not too good for her shape face.

[msrachelj]

On 8/12/2019 at 9:37 PM, Gem 10 said:

Just tuned in for the first time this season.  Does anyone else think SJP’s hair looks horrible?  Parted in the middle as usual, and way too long and stringy.  The same look year after year, and not too good for her shape face.

Yeah for professing to be such a fashion icon, some of her outfits are ugly and  her hair is a mess. And how do these women walk on those heels? She has been wearing heels forever but she has no feet deformities. But I, who hardly ever wore heels , now has arthritis and bunions!