Divorce - General Discussion

[auntiemel]

On 10/18/2016 at 10:38 PM, Corgi-ears said:

I found Diane's "No. Only the granola" pretty fucking hilarious, though.

That was my favorite line, too. :)

[Duke2801]

On ‎10‎/‎17‎/‎2016 at 10:27 AM, luna1122 said:

My problem is, at this point, that I have no idea why Frances is trying to salvage her marriage. She appears to despise Robert--with good reason or not. THC and SJP continue to seem as if they are on different shows. Robert is so broadly portrayed, so sitcommy and weird, I can't tell if we are supposed to loathe him as much as she seems to or not. She apparently is at least fairly financially secure. The kids are not tiny--no kids like divorce, but they're old enough to handle this stuff to some degree. She has nothing, it appears, but contempt for her husband. Why is she trying to save the marriage? It's virtually inexplicable at this point.

Also, why do cheating spouses tell their partners that the person they slept with 'meant nothing' to them? Does that ever make anyone feel better? "Hey, I torpedoed our marriage and devastated you for someone I care nothing at all about'. Oh, okay, then. And of course, she's lying, as she told her friend that she might be in love with Conchord guy.

It seemed pretty clear to me that she was only interested in salvaging her marriage once her (icky) granola-making lover had NO interest in pursuing a future with her beyond secret trysts and orgasms.

Frances in like many women that, unfortunately, think it is better to be with somebody and be miserable, than to be alone. 

[NutMeg]

I wrote a long post Wednesday that has disappeared, the gist of it was that the cheating spouse is often the most desperate to keep the marriage going, no idea if it's because of image of self as a good, responsible person and/or because the fun on the side is mostly fun it it is secret.

(I'm bummed that the post has gone, because I had spent time detailing/exploring...)

[bethster2000]

It's awful.  I won't watch again.

[formerlyfreedom]

10 hours ago, NutMeg said:

I wrote a long post Wednesday that has disappeared, the gist of it was that the cheating spouse is often the most desperate to keep the marriage going, no idea if it's because of image of self as a good, responsible person and/or because the fun on the side is mostly fun it it is secret.

(I'm bummed that the post has gone, because I had spent time detailing/exploring...)

Not sure where you posted it - it's showing nothing has been removed from this topic, so it wasn't here.

[NutMeg]

22 minutes ago, saoirse said:

Not sure where you posted it - it's showing nothing has been removed from this topic, so it wasn't here.

No, it's the posting that didn't work - I mean the "Submit reply" part. I had that in another thread too the same day, first time that's ever happened. It's only the day after that I realised my posts had never been posted.

[formerlyfreedom]

5 minutes ago, NutMeg said:

No, it's the posting that didn't work - I mean the "Submit reply" part. I had that in another thread too the same day, first time that's ever happened. It's only the day after that I realised my posts had never been posted.

Okay, *whew*! Yeah, that's been an issue that's been talked about in the Bugs forum. So sorry about that, I know it's frustrating!

[The Solution]

My epiphany? -  Thanks HBO for another 10 minutes and I'm out shitshow.

[auntiemel]

It was nice to hear Crazy Love at the end. I forgot what a pretty song that is.

[windtrix]

Absolutely no chemistry of any kind between SJP and THC and no indication that there ever was. Not liking this much.

[windtrix]

Both are so unlikeable. A minute of light when Molly Shannon was on screen, but that was it. 

[bagatelle]

I watched a few minutes of the therapy session but had to turn the channel. The writing is horrid. The lighting is bad.  SJP can't do anything with what she's given.  I'm out.

[film noire]

I thought the pilot was fantastic -- brutal but funny -- but the last two episodes have felt weak, very network comedy-ish, with none of the walking-the-line tone of the pilot. And the whole "locked out" bit drove me mad (really? A hammy "Three's Company" device? That's what's replaced the bitter underbelly of the pilot? Damn.)

[scrb]

I watched this before WW and TWD.

The Molly Shannon character instantly reconciling with her husband is a big slap in the face to Robert and Frances too, though she only heard about it.

[EdnasEdibles]

7 hours ago, scrb said:

I watched this before WW and TWD.

The Molly Shannon character instantly reconciling with her husband is a big slap in the face to Robert and Frances too, though she only heard about it.

I don't necessarily see it as a slap in the face. In everyone's marriage you have things you can accept and things you can't accept and it's up to the two people in that relationship to decide what they are. For example, I have a friend who's husband will not let her work outside the home. Simply will not allow it. That would make me furious and it would be a dealbreaker. She's fine with it. Molly & her husband seem to have a relationship that feeds on drama. It works for them - sort of?  They both seem to be OK with reconciling. I didn't feel like either of them was doing it for financial reasons or out of fear.

Robert & Frances have different issues. I think Robert thought that their marriage was OK. It was OK that he has close personal emotional connections with another woman. It was OK that he made his wife move out of Manhattan when she wasn't 100% on it. It was OK with him that he made her get a 9-5 job to pay for his dreams to happen. Frances seems to have been doing this because she hoped her time would come - her time with the gallery - her chance to start over. But it wasn't going to happen with Robert. Everything seemed to be on his schedule and according to his wishes. There is probably some woman out there who would be happy for that deal - but it's not Frances. 

I wish they'd humanize Robert a bit more. He seems like a dick and he seems like he's a dick to virtually every single person in his life. 

[ShellSeeker]

On 10/17/2016 at 11:21 PM, LilaFowler said:

ETA: I'm going to stick with this show simply because I want to see how it ends.  I do enjoy that for once, the cheater was the woman.  That's a real rarity in tv/film/whatever.  I admit that I'll be a bit disappointed if the show concludes with them getting back together to work it out, take more vacations, spend more time together, etc. -- basically tying a big bow over a big mess.  We'll see.

That is the only thing I have liked about this show. But overall, there is nothing here that I'm finding very compelling. These are all pretty awful people. And the show should be called Carrie Bradshaw: The Road Not Taken because it plays to me like what we'd see if Carrie had gotten married and moved to the suburbs instead of moving to NYC. And the back and forth with her husband and side piece was quite reminiscent of Big vs Aidan. 

And maybe I'm just getting cranky in my old age, but I am sick of characters on TV shows not having more "regular" jobs. Frances wants to open an art gallery. Really? If we're supposed to be relating to her it would be easier to do that if she was an accountant or an IT nerd, or someone making their living in cubicle world like so many of the rest of us do. I don't know...maybe I was just in a bad mood, but it rubbed me the wrong way. Or maybe I've just been a corporate drone for too long. LOL.

And on a superficial note, I do not understand why SJP chooses to wear her hair long and parted in the middle like that. It is so unflattering for the shape of her face. In the opening scene of the pilot when she was in the bathroom, she had her hair pulled back and it looked about 1000 times better.

[BusyOctober]

Three episodes in and I'm not warming up to it.  SJP is playing more to the dramatic side and THC to the comedic.  They both are capable of doing both, so it's hard to watch these actors working against each other.  I wish the writers/actors/directors would have met in a room, together, face to face to discuss which way to go.  This feels like the actors all picked a direction and went ahead without talking to anyone else.  As it is, if THC is going for the broader dark comedy, but SJP is doing a Lifetime movie, this won't work.  They've done nothing to setup the premise that these 2 ever had a romantic or physical attraction between them.  They don't have ANY chemistry so I don't care anything about their relationship.  Unless I'm supposed to watch this from the POV of, "God! He's such a tool!  Poor Frances!"   But even then I don't get it.  That wouldn't make me sympathetic toward Frances...she knew who Robert was when she married him.  His tool-ish behavior didn't just "pop up" in the last 3 years. 

I think I'm out.  I'll just drop my HBO subscription until GoT comes back. 

[Sweet-tea]

Delurking to say I'm so disappointed in this show. It seems mean-spirited to me, and I don't like any of the characters. I agree with others who have said THC's character is poorly written; there is nothing redeemable about him. He's just a jerk. I wonder if he is written that way in order to justify Frances' affair. Regardless, the two don't click at all. I don't believe for a second that they met, fell in love, got married and had children together. I think THC was miscast. They should've found someone who had chemistry with SJP,  and they shouldn't have made his character so one note. 

I also don't like Frances and am not the least bit sympathetic for her. Am I supposed to be rooting for her, or is the show just too edgy for its own good? I get the feeling that the writers are trying to show how shocking and blunt they can be with the language, especially THC's. The problem is it isn't funny; it just seems like the writing team showing off. 

I think the only hope for the show is a total reboot: soften the writing, recast THC and give us someone or something that makes us want to keep watching. Until that happens, I'm out. I gave it three episodes, and each one was worse than the last.

By the way, what was the point of the marriage counselor saying practically nothing? I have been to marriage counseling, and my husband and I did get some guidance. I understand they want to show the characters arguing, but it seemed like a copout to me. If the therapist was the sounding board type who just sits there, I saw a few instances in which it was obvious she needed to direct the conversation down a more productive path. 

Edited October 24, 2016 by Sweet-tea
misspelling, typo

[scrb]

Actually they softened Robert a lot this episode.  Maybe the admission of the emotional affair made him realize he wasn't blameless in what their marriage had become.

It was sad that the little girl was washing the dog so that her father could go back to her mother.

He tried to talk to his employees about his marital problems, not connecting with them.

Then at the end he left and didn't want Frances' last memory of him to be going to the bathroom.

[Inquisitionist]

Quote

I gave it three episodes, and each one was worse than the last.

I'm feeling this way as well.  At this point, I'm watching it as background noise.  I don't understand the relationship Frances and Robert are supposed to have had. 

[LilaFowler]

4 hours ago, Queasy-bo said:

And on a superficial note, I do not understand why SJP chooses to wear her hair long and parted in the middle like that. It is so unflattering for the shape of her face. In the opening scene of the pilot when she was in the bathroom, she had her hair pulled back and it looked about 1000 times better.

Agreed. She looked downright fetching when she was brushing her teeth.  The dark blonde hair with the middle part doesn't do her any favors at all. 

[LilaFowler]

Don't really have much to add except that, this show makes me feel depressed.

[EdnasEdibles]

11 minutes ago, LilaFowler said:

Don't really have much to add except that, this show makes me feel depressed.

Yes. This is true. I think I have more patience for it than I normally would because I'm kind of a Frances in my own life. So I'm watching to see what to do/not to do? It's the same feeling I got when watching Togetherness - another bleak "comedy" about a sad white people marriage. If I didn't have that kind of situation in my life, I probably would not want to watch this though. 

[Maysie]

I tried another episode, but I don't know if I can go any further - it's just not doing it for me.

When Frances' friend (see, the only people whose names I know are Frances and Robert - the rest are just people in the show) was rattling off Robert's shortcomings (forcing her to work to support his business, etc) I realized that the very little we really know about these characters is mostly based on some other character's opinions or throwaway lines. It's a totally different show, but The Affair has done a great job of building its characters by dedicating half of each show to each character's take on things. Divorce can't do that - it'd be a cop-out and it's a different premise and format - but it seems the writers either haven't really decided who these people really are or they aren't up to the task of showing us who they are through the writing.

I don't know who Robert and Frances are and more importantly, I don't really care if I ever find out. There is nothing interesting about either one to me. The show itself is a disappointment - the story, the writing, the characters, the acting - nothing seems to be gelling, and frankly, I expected a lot more based on the people involved and the fact it's on HBO. I do, however, enjoy the music. It's nice to tune in and hear some song I'd long forgotten about, but I don't think that's enough to keep me tuning in.

[auntiemel]

I think I'll hang in for one more episode--maybe two--based solely on the glimpse I got of what this show could be in last episode's "No. Just the Granola," moment. But if the rest of the episodes are as hostile and fraught as the pilot or as flat and joyless as this third one...well, I just don't have room in my life for that!

[ChlcGirl]

The only thing I have liked about this show thus far was in the second episode.  After the horrible hospital room scene, it was great to hear Talia Balsam say that she had been on Robert's side when she found out Francis was cheating.  Too often in shows like this the women whole heartedly support whatever selfish decision the friend makes, when the man doing it would be castigated.  That was nice .. until Robert shit all over his ally.

[formerlyfreedom]

In hopes of keeping their split amicable, Frances and Robert meet with a mediator. Frances confides in a co-worker, and Robert gets surprising financial news.

[chocolatine]

I'm the lone dissenting voice here, but I actually didn't hate this episode as much as the last one. It was almost funny in the "so bad, it's good" way. Robert showing up to his own open house loudly praising the remodel, talking to his crew in broken Spanish, needing "space" in the elevator, then accidentally pressing the open doors button - that's the kind of stuff THC excels at. The marriage counselor was also kinda funny in the way she contributed absolutely nothing to the sessions, and yet F and R kept coming back, and Frances being terrible at her headhunter job was kinda funny as well.

Speaking of Frances's job, after all the talking about her lifelong dream of having her own art gallery, I would have expected that her day job would be at least tangentially related to the art business. It doesn't bode well for the gallery if she has no prior experience running one.

14 hours ago, EdnasEdibles said:

It was OK that he made his wife move out of Manhattan when she wasn't 100% on it. It was OK with him that he made her get a 9-5 job to pay for his dreams to happen. Frances seems to have been doing this because she hoped her time would come - her time with the gallery - her chance to start over. But it wasn't going to happen with Robert. Everything seemed to be on his schedule and according to his wishes. There is probably some woman out there who would be happy for that deal - but it's not Frances. 

I wish they'd humanize Robert a bit more. He seems like a dick and he seems like he's a dick to virtually every single person in his life. 

I wouldn't say that was all exclusively on him though. I'm assuming it was both their choice to have children, and unless they had a rent-controlled apartment in Manhattan big enough for all of them, they wouldn't have been able to afford market rate even if they'd both wanted to stay. And even though the NYC suburbs are cheaper than Manhattan, they're still pretty expensive and usually require two incomes to afford a nice house in a good school district. Those are the realities of life when you choose to have children and raise them in an expensive area - you have to let go of some of your dreams. It's not like Robert isn't pulling his weight, he's working hard every day remodeling and flipping houses.

Edited October 25, 2016 by chocolatine

[candall]

I live in a very isolated area--slow Wi-Fi, no streaming, spotty phone reception.  It's far to friends and restaurants.  For entertainment, I have a dozen animals, a stack of library books and an ancient DVR filled with movies that I hoard like entertainment nuts for the winter.  Hi Jake, remind me again about those reservoirs.

So the fall premiere season is a treat.  Fresh meat!  I give everything a chance.  But if I have a second or third episode waiting in the queue and I realize it feels like a chore to get those watched and free up the space--Pffft, no go, out.

 

I don't feel that way about Divorce.  The show didn't make a good first impression--the characters weren't likeable and the tone wasn't at all what I expected.  But damned if I didn't want to see what those crazy (sour, bitter) kids were up to next.  Will Frances drop more F Bombs on tender ears?  Which of them is going to be more excruciatingly inappropriate this week?

Or maybe SJP and THC have a large bank of good history with me and they're drawing on that account when I wouldn't be inclined to watch other actors be rude and pathetic.

Anyway, I'm still in!

[pasdetrois]

This show doesn't know what it wants to be when it grows up. I've seen SJP do this character before, and THC's character belongs in a sitcom about hapless husbands/dads.

I did chuckle at the useless deadpan therapist - a lot of marital counseling doesn't work because the participants are too miserable or self-involved and don't really want to be there, but the counseling is what society tells them they should do.

The art gallery gig seems completely unrealistic and a poor script writing choice - suburban location, no apparent experience for the character. Guess they are trying to infuse the notion of sophistication and glamor.

[luna1122]

I'm still in as well, and probably will stick it out, tho I remain confused by the notion of Frances and Robert ever having been in love. By the time my ex and I split, I found him a buffoon and at least figuratively flipped him off all the time too (sad but true) so I get that part, but there is simply nothing about Robert that I can see Frances would ever have been all weak in the knees about. I love THC, but Robert is almost as broad as, say, Lowell on 'Wings'. I loved Lowell, but no way would I ever want to BE with him, he was a big weirdo. Robert at the open house was funny, but in a really cringey, embarrassing way, and that's how he comes across ALL the time. It doesn't appear to be a consequence of the bad marriage, or Frances' infidelity, but just who he is. Frances may be no prize, but she's a fairly, you know, normal person. Robert is a cartoon.

Tho I did appreciate that we saw a bit of humanity in him this episode, an actual person beneath the clown. I do think her friend rattling off Robert's shortcoming and calling him a monster was unfair. Marriage is compromise, and I assume Francis wasn't forced to do any of the things that she mentioned. He 'made her get a 9-5 job'? Poor baby. most of us have to have those. I do wonder where her art gallery inspiration comes from--is she an artist? has she experience in the field, in business ownership, does she have relationships with artists, etc?

Frances is apparently pretty bad at her job. Or just kind of a bitch. If I'd been her client, I'd have immediately asked for a new recruiter.

[Maysie]

6 hours ago, chocolatine said:

Speaking of Frances's job, after all the talking about her lifelong dream of having her own art gallery, I would have expected that her day job would be at least tangentially related to the art business. It doesn't bode well for the gallery if she has no prior experience running one.

This is a good point. And given how she behaved with her client, I have to wonder how good she is at headhunting. I know it was to reflect what was going on in her head at the moment, but damn. And all this makes me wonder a couple of things: 1) her friend's view of everything Robert "did" to her (making her give up her career and move to the burbs and support the family) - might there have been a touch of reality/practicality in Robert's insistence that she do those things (if it's even entirely true because it's a friend's perspective) that even Frances acknowledged on some subconscious level? (i.e., doubts about her ability to have a gallery and taking the "safe" choice). 2) Why was her friend on Roberts' side last episode when he'd obviously been so awful to Frances, making her do these things? Simply because Frances was cheating? I'm a bit surprised that her friend wasn't "yeah, after the monster he's been for the past xx years, he deserves to be cheated on." It's a big leap from ally to wanting to take him to the cleaners because he made her move and work as an office drone all that time. 3) If Frances' lifelong dream was to open an art gallery, I would have expected something in the periphery to point to that interest - perhaps some interesting art on the walls of her house (it doesn't have to be expensive) or even some coffee table books/magazines or something that shows me that she's kept up with what's going on in the art world. I understand that she's been made to be a working family gal, but she doesn't give off any sort of creative vibe to me.

The other couple at the therapist's office: If I remember correctly, the woman was sitting there with a black eye the first time we saw them and I had the impression that Frances had kind of a "well, at least I don't have to deal with that!" kind of reaction (which would be reasonable). Did we see them the second time laughing together? I couldn't tell if it was the same couple. And I guess the point would be that even the couple that has appears to have abuse issues can find something to laugh at, to enjoy together, that Frances and Robert don't have. Did I read that right?

[Inquisitionist]

The writing is perplexing, but the casting of THC and SJP as a couple is a flat-out disaster.  I simply don't think these two actors COULD be written in a way that would make me believe they ever fell for each other.  

[atlantaloves]

This show is rancid...I am through now...just nasty people....a shame because I love HBO, but they blew it with this stupid mess.

[Surrealist]

6 hours ago, candall said:

I live in a very isolated area--slow Wi-Fi, no streaming, spotty phone reception.  It's far to friends and restaurants.  For entertainment, I have a dozen animals, a stack of library books and an ancient DVR filled with movies that I hoard like entertainment nuts for the winter.  Hi Jake, remind me again about those reservoirs.

So the fall premiere season is a treat.  Fresh meat!  I give everything a chance.  But if I have a second or third episode waiting in the queue and I realize it feels like a chore to get those watched and free up the space--Pffft, no go, out.

 

I don't feel that way about Divorce.  The show didn't make a good first impression--the characters weren't likeable and the tone wasn't at all what I expected.  But damned if I didn't want to see what those crazy (sour, bitter) kids were up to next.  Will Frances drop more F Bombs on tender ears?  Which of them is going to be more excruciatingly inappropriate this week?

Or maybe SJP and THC have a large bank of good history with me and they're drawing on that account when I wouldn't be inclined to watch other actors be rude and pathetic.

Anyway, I'm still in!

I was thinking of how to express my opinion of this show so far, but you covered all of my reasons so succinctly. 

The characters aren't particularly likeable, but perhaps that's why I keep watching. I'm interested to see how everything is going to be drawn out between Frances and Robert. 

I'm only characters I feel genuinely sorry for on this show are their kids. 

[iMonrey]

Quote

  I wish the writers/actors/directors would have met in a room, together, face to face to discuss which way to go.  

Agreed. The problem can't entirely be blamed on the actors. The writing determines how we view those characters to a greater extent, and the directing is a factor as well. Everyone seems to be on a different page.

And am I crazy or has HBO been billing this show as a "hilarious new comedy?" It's nowhere near that. There's nothing hilarious about divorce in the first place, and so far only Robert and Diane (Molly Shannon) seem like sitcom characters. If this is supposed to be a funny show, then maybe it's actually Sarah Jessica Parker they should have replaced, because I could totally see Molly Shannon and Thomas Haden Church playing off each other for laughs. They need to amp up the comedy and absurdity if the show is supposed to be funny. As it stands it's more sad than anything else.

[luna1122]

3 minutes ago, iMonrey said:

And am I crazy or has HBO been billing this show as a "hilarious new comedy?" It's nowhere near that. There's nothing hilarious about divorce in the first place, and so far only Robert and Diane (Molly Shannon) seem like sitcom characters. If this is supposed to be a funny show, then maybe it's actually Sarah Jessica Parker they should have replaced, because I could totally see Molly Shannon and Thomas Haden Church playing off each other for laughs. They need to amp up the comedy and absurdity if the show is supposed to be funny. As it stands it's more sad than anything else.

This is true. SJP comes from the SATC brand of comedy (at least most recently, and for the longest time), which is more 'dramedy' than than comedy. But Molly Shannon and THC are both from the broad brand of sitcom. It's a glaring difference, here.

[formerlyfreedom]

I'm really kind of enjoying this in some ways. I've never been married (so never divorced), but I've watched the marriages of friends and family fall apart over the years, and I think that this is plunging us into a marriage dissolution at a certain point that I remember seeing in some splits - that point where at least one cannot understand what they ever saw in the other, and it turns into an uncomfortable situation for all around them. And in at least one case, I can definitely say the couple in question resembled Frances and Robert, in that no one looking at their marriage could possibly see what brought those two people together.

It does make me feel really good about my decision to stay single, though, I can tell you that!

[candall]

1 hour ago, iMonrey said:

And am I crazy or has HBO been billing this show as a "hilarious new comedy?"

My biggest pet peeve, Cinema Division, is when the marketing department takes an interesting drama with offbeat characters, cobbles together the four funny moments for the trailer, and gets some reviewer to call it "Hilarious!"  Plenty of decent movies tank at the box office because people have spent $50 to see a comedy and they just aren't in the mood for ambiguity.

Divorce seems like it wants to be a show about a universally painful experience, plus some funny bits.  (Which might turn out to be okay--I can't remember ever LOLing at Carrie Bradshaw, but I do remember relating to the painful stuff each of those SATC women went through.  Sidenote:  I bet Molly Shannon hopes she gets a chance to move away from the Mary Katherine Gallagher stunts.)

Maybe the show will have time to settle down and find a groove.

[BooBear]

On 10/25/2016 at 1:52 PM, saoirse said:

I'm really kind of enjoying this in some ways. I've never been married (so never divorced), but I've watched the marriages of friends and family fall apart over the years, and I think that this is plunging us into a marriage dissolution at a certain point that I remember seeing in some splits - that point where at least one cannot understand what they ever saw in the other, and it turns into an uncomfortable situation for all around them. And in at least one case, I can definitely say the couple in question resembled Frances and Robert, in that no one looking at their marriage could possibly see what brought those two people together.

It does make me feel really good about my decision to stay single, though, I can tell you that!

Fellow single girl here snickering. I am actually not watching this show but like all HBO shows they re-air it so much I end up watching it.  I too have some friends that remind me a lot of these two. What typically seems to happen is that the people change so completely in the 20 years or so of marriage they are almost two people who you can't imagine were ever together. So I am not entirely put off by how THC and SJP don't seem like they ever could have been in love. 

The couple I am thinking off decided not to get the divorce. I don't think because they loved each other, but they just realized they had too much to lose. So now they are like roommates / brother and sister. I wonder if this show will go that route. It almost feels like they are not doing anything too permanent with the characters so they can have that option in the end. 

[LilaFowler]

Both proved how selfish and self-centered they are in this episode (if they hadn't in the first three).  SJP is the most unnatural-acting mother ever.  She talks to and treats her preteen/teenagers like they're toddlers or something -- it's super irritating. 

[chocolatine]

1 hour ago, LilaFowler said:

 SJP is the most unnatural-acting mother ever. She talks to and treats her preteen/teenagers like they're toddlers or something -- it's super irritating. 

I noticed that too. It's like Frances is babysitting somebody else's children and desperately trying to avoid having them act out while in her care. It's really weird, because SJP has a teenage son in real life, so she should be better at acting like a mother of a teenage son.

There are moments in this show where I see it for the dark comedy it's supposed to be, like Frances's scene with Julian when she realizes he's been banging other men's wives and doesn't give a shit about her, or her scene with her assistant(?) at work, as well as the marriage counseling scene last week, but 70% percent of it is still unentertaining.

I guess the next step is Robert demanding spousal support. I'm still confused about how senior Frances is supposed to be in her job and how much money she's supposed to be making. Last episode she was talking to a job candidate as a recruiter, which is usually an individual contributor position. But this episode, she was in charge of a large meeting in an expensively furnished boardroom, and she apparently has an assistant, so that looks like she's a VP of some sort.

[EdnasEdibles]

I also noticed this with Frances and mothering. I also noticed this in Bad Moms. TV/Movie moms tend to be more "Baby, let me do that for you" or "I love you, baby" as they pet their children like a cat. It seems bizarre. Realistically, I'd imagine someone who is unhappy at home and work and has teenagers would be yelling a lot more. 

The conversation with the kids was the only time I appreciated Robert. Just get to the fucking point. Say what you need to say. Be done with it. 

They're both starting to get exhausting with me. Frances needed a verbal diarrhea moment but she has two close female friends and a therapist - mind vomit on one of them and not your co-worker. 

[Inquisitionist]

Quote

They're both starting to get exhausting with me. Frances needed a verbal diarrhea moment but she has two close female friends and a therapist - mind vomit on one of them and not your co-worker. 

I guess that was supposed to play as funny, but it came off as pathetic.

[iMonrey]

This was really the first episode that felt like a comedy. It's still a strange show and not at all what HBO is billing it as, but there were some amusing scenes, like Frances pouring her heart out to that poor assistant guy who didn't even really know her. And the more they focus on Robert the more it feels like a comedy and less like a drama. The show still has a long way to go, though, and I'm not sure it'll ever find enough of an audience.

[cardigirl]

I get that the scene where Francis asked for help with getting her financial information was supposed to be comedic, but come on.  She can't figure out where to find her financial information from the company?  Even if you do have direct deposit, you're going to have an online file where you can sign in and see what you're paid, what taxes are taken out, and how much you're putting in the 401(k).  And if not there, you can go online and check your bank account, or call the bank for information. I was deeply insulted by that scene. She's an executive in a high pressure business.  Not some woman who just started back to work after staying home for 10 years.  Gah.

And I agree with all the parenting observations.  Although, the scene where they finally tell the kids played very real for me.  Of course the kids knew something was up. Kids are smart.

[scrb]

Yeah so it gets adversarial and in the previews, Frances is telling her lawyer about how she was blunt to Robert when the sex was unsatisfactory.

Then she goes on about how his mustache is always damp.

Ewww.

[justjen]

While watching the first episode with the Boyfriend...

Boyfriend: Why do you think everyone is from Wings?

Me: Thomas Haden Church was on Wings?

Second episode...

Boyfriend: The guy on Wings didn't have a moustache.

Me: You couldn't grow facial hair 26 years ago. Things change. Thomas Haden Church was on Wings

***

Other than I get to say Thomas Haden Church, I don't think this show with this cast is quite for me and that's kind of unfortunate. I was ready to love it!

[luna1122]

Yeah, this was the first episode that kind of jelled, for me. I kind of liked it all. Robert, for all his stomach issues and talking about 'twosies', wasn't just a buffoon. He was great with the kids, telling them about the divorce, and then with Frances too, as he left. For the first time, I remembered that THC is a handsome guy, or would be, without the terrible 'stache.

And I got Frances' absolute dismay over the moustache, and how it felt like a hostile act for him to grow it. Her weeping over the inexplicable, perpetual dampness (Ew) of it was both poignant and funny, tho SJP has never learned to cry on camera. The scene with her falling apart in front of the coworker eventually seemed over the top, but it began well. Going thru a divorce makes you a little crazy. You often do and say things and fall apart in front of people it's inappropriate to fall apart in front of. I got it. I liked it.

The show's not about them reconciling. It's about them splitting. Tho I still wish I could believe that they were ever a couple, I did come closer with this episode, and eventually, I guess, it doesn't matter. They're done. When that happens, there is generally a lot of contempt and not much remembering the warm n fuzzy stuff.  They are, in divorce parlance, irretrievably broken. I think I might wind up liking this show. maybe.

Edited October 31, 2016 by luna1122

[txhorns79]

Quote

Even if you do have direct deposit, you're going to have an online file where you can sign in and see what you're paid, what taxes are taken out, and how much you're putting in the 401(k).  And if not there, you can go online and check your bank account, or call the bank for information. I was deeply insulted by that scene.

I get direct deposit, but I have no "online file," whatever that may be, that I know of where I can randomly check my information.  I have an idea as to who to ask to get it for me, but otherwise I wouldn't have any idea. 

I was a little confused as to how Robert appeared to be leveraging jointly owned assets as collateral without Frances being in the loop.