S01.E06: Control

[Guest]

Quote

Megan preps for the opening night of her play; Kyle must deal with the reemergence of a controversial person from his past; Terence realizes he needs Kyle's help to save the Institute from a possible scandal; DeAnn discovers a much needed escape.

[Guest]

When Megan and the director were talking in the theater, I felt like I was watching a super cheesy play with bad acting- like written by, directed by, and staffed by high schoolers. I don't watch this expecting great writing and acting, but that was something else.

At least it felt like the plots were moving forward tonight.

[MVFrostsMyPie]

My thoughts:

1. More close-ups on MV's panty-dropping green eyes, please.

2. When did shortalls make a comeback as acceptable fashion?

3. That director dude's insta-love is even more ridiculous than Kyle & Megan's insta-love. Like that's worse than the insta-love I've read in cheesy romance books. Way too intense and over-the-top. He probably has a blown-up poster of Megan in his room. Probably the ceiling above his bed. Does Megan have out-of-this-world kissing skills or something? Extra strong pheromones? A platinum vagine? I wouldn't have even given him a ride home. Call Lyft, dude. 

[MV007]

This show desperately needs a second love interest for Megan that is more legitimate then this clown director.  Megan/Kyle have real hurdles in their relationship and Megan has real reasons for questioning wanting to be with him.  The show shouldn't wed istelf to this pairing as an otp.  But thats what it seems to be doing despite Kyle being a borderline sociopath.

[treeofdreams]

Perhaps the storyline is being set up that the director becomes such a nuisance that the Institute has to step in to help Megan, thus gaining something to hold over her.  That's the only reason I can think of for this bizarre obsession.

[HunterHunted]

31 minutes ago, treeofdreams said:

Perhaps the storyline is being set up that the director becomes such a nuisance that the Institute has to step in to help Megan, thus gaining something to hold over her.  That's the only reason I can think of for this bizarre obsession.

It really does seem that the show is setting him up to be an intrusive "nice guy." He basically demanded and then begged Megan to go to the desert with him. He had something snotty to say about Megan's new car. I can see him setting Megan up if she rejects him again.

[treeofdreams]

Maybe he will go to Kyle and tell him that Megan is in love with him, not with Kyle, and that she is only with Kyle for the fame and money, thus (in his mind) breaking them up and leaving Megan free for him.  And Kyle would tell Terence, and Terence would fix it.

[Jillybean]

Are we to understand from the nasty conversation between Terence and Kyle that Terence has something he is holding over Kyle's head -- thus forcing him to do Terence's bidding, lest the life-ruining secret be revealed?  Or is this just your run-of-the-mill svengali situation?

Edited April 10, 2017 by Jillybean

[zxy556575]

Of course Terence holds a very private discussion with Kyle while strolling amongst a bunch of Institute members.

The Kyle/Detective Gaffey sex thing squicked me out for real.

[taragel]

One of the things that's been bothering me the past two episodes is that...Kyle seems too young to believably be this important. I struggled with him rewriting the movie script (I mean....is he even that intelligent never mind that important?) last week, and then this week that whole scene with Terence was a bit ridiculous. I can't imagine anything in Kyle's past that makes him allow Terence to prostitute him. So he had a shitty father and a tough upbringing. At this point, short of hiding something huge like he murdered his mother or whatever, I don't get it. He's clearly not hiding the fact that he might be gay, unlike some possible real-life influences for this series. (And in contemporary Hollywood, I really don't know if that'd even be such a huge deal.) Is it just Stockholm Syndrome/brainwashing? Terence has given me everything thus I MUST do whatever he says? I guess the only way that scene works if he really is young and super impressionable. Because I cannot imagine a Tom Cruise-type not just saying "Fuck you and the horse you rode in on. I made this cult what it is and I can walk away at any time" to those kind of threats. The way Terence is handling Kyle took quite the turn this episode, and not necessarily a believable one for me.

[Artsda]

Well eww wasn't expecting Kyle to prostitute himself for IHM. That was gross and he obviously didn't listen to Lisbeth.

Interesting they made a point of letting the audience know that Kyle has a fidelity clause in the contract just like Megan does. There's also now video taped evidence of him breaking the clause. 

I've been thinking for the fame Megan now has for being in Kyle's life that the car she was driving didn't fit her new world.  So glad they fixed that. I kind of want to see Hope's face when she sees the car.

[Atlanta]

19 hours ago, Gabrielle Tracy said:

Megan is like the Bella Swan of Arrangement.  Guys are falling in love with her for really no discernible reason.

I was thinking more so the Marissa Cooper. LOL The actress does look a lot like Misha Barton. Guys inexplicably fell in love with her.

[MaggieG]

I'm glad we didn't have to see Kyle and the Detective get it on. And she wanted to walk around with his sweat all over her?! EW!

Ridiculous as this show is, I'm still into it

[Featherhat]

Kyle does not seem like the guy that regularly toplines £100-200 budget plus movies and makes them successful, which I guess what they were going for here. I think being publicly gay for that situation is more likely to be a problem than if you're the lead on a successful TV show for example (although they might enter into "just for our careers relationships" as well I don't think there'd be such a massive hoopla about it, especially not at IHM). Kyle does seem to like women though. Murder or underage kids would be higher on the list or having been a teenage prostitute or something. Kyle said it was all about his "brand" that he can't be someone that women leave or people will think there's a problem. He was probably being truthful with that, but there *is* a big problem he needs to keep speculation away from.

I guess the director is to set Megan up with blackmail material either his the IHM or both because she's pretty but not particularly amazing or charismatic around any of the guys. Or maybe she really is Marissa Cooper/Bella Swan here.

[zxy556575]

6 hours ago, Featherhat said:

Kyle does not seem like the guy that regularly toplines £100-200 budget plus movies and makes them successful

He seems more like a Chad Michael Murray passing-teen-heartthrob on a soapy TV series.

But as one of the supposed top movie stars in the world, he's also not getting nearly the amount of paparazzi swarms he should be, especially with a gossipy breakup and new girlfriend.

[crgirl412]

There are many, many disturbing things about this show but the most disturbing so far was the prostituting of Kyle.  

I don't like how it is getting "darker" but then again I watched all of Leah Remini's show on Scientology so I should be surprised given IHM is such a big part of it. 

[Atlanta]

15 hours ago, Featherhat said:

Kyle does not seem like the guy that regularly toplines £100-200 budget plus movies and makes them successful, which I guess what they were going for here. I think being publicly gay for that situation is more likely to be a problem than if you're the lead on a successful TV show for example (although they might enter into "just for our careers relationships" as well I don't think there'd be such a massive hoopla about it, especially not at IHM). Kyle does seem to like women though. Murder or underage kids would be higher on the list or having been a teenage prostitute or something. Kyle said it was all about his "brand" that he can't be someone that women leave or people will think there's a problem. He was probably being truthful with that, but there *is* a big problem he needs to keep speculation away from.

Danny Masterson from "That 70s Show" is a $cientologist and dealing with accusations on that. http://deadline.com/2017/03/danny-masterson-sexual-assault-investigation-lapd-1202036004/

[hoodooznoodooz]

I am so confused:  who is the blonde woman? Is that Anika (the woman DeAnn hired to seduce Megan's ex-boyfriend)? 

Please explain her character to me, as if I haven't watched any episodes, because I didn't really pay attention during any of her scenes. Thank you!

[HunterHunted]

On 4/11/2017 at 11:12 PM, Lord Donia said:

He seems more like a Chad Michael Murray passing-teen-heartthrob on a soapy TV series.

But as one of the supposed top movie stars in the world, he's also not getting nearly the amount of paparazzi swarms he should be, especially with a gossipy breakup and new girlfriend.

The actor is in his mid 30s, but Kyle doesn't appear to be the same age. The problem with Kyle is that he seems to be mostly modeled on Tom Cruise and his career, but actors today who are Kyle's age tend to get famous starring in genre franchise films (the Marvel movies, the DC movies, Hunger Games, Twilight, Divergent, Star Trek, and Star Wars). To that end, the actor gets some leeway to indulge their whims (Robert Downey Jr.'s demand that Adam Pally be included in Iron Man 3 or Ed Norton's demand that Michael K. Williams be in the Incredible Hulk). However if that film started to veer away from the brand, the studio would clap back with the quickness. Additionally, the stars of these type of films have paparazzi problems, but nothing like the problems Tom Cruise has. There are tons of paparazzi pictures of the Chrises (Evans, Hemsworth, Pine, and Pratt) buying groceries, getting dry cleaning, going to lunch, and doing boring basic shit. Tom Cruise can't do those things and it appears that Kyle doesn't or can't either. The closest analogue to Cruise level fame is Robert Pattinson during the height of Twilight or maybe Daniel Radcliffe during the final Potter films. Plus Twitter, Instagram, Snapchat, Periscope, and other social media platforms eliminate the need and market for paparazzi pictures. If you're a superfan, would you rather look at paparazzi pictures of Katy Perry on vacation assuming there is no naked Orlando Bloom or Katy's own pictures on her instagram.

[VartanFan]

I think what Terence meant is that he could very easily end Kyle by outing his secrets, past, fixing of various legal troubles, sic-ing the detective on HIM because he had hte relationship with the dead lady, and outing that he makes sexual partners sign contracts.  That's what I got out of it.  And grody that he was taping the sex...even though I"d hop on film with Michael Vartan in an instant.  ;)

[MVFrostsMyPie]

3 hours ago, VartanFan said:

even though I"d hop on film with Michael Vartan in an instant.  ;)

Heck, I'd join a cult as long as he was the leader. :D

[crgirl412]

Michael Vartan doesn't look good in this show though.  :(  He's so thin and scruffy; he looks like he's a white-collar drug addict right before it all falls apart. 

[VartanFan]

I've seen posters talk about who Megan reminds them of and for me it's straight-up Emily Thorne (Revenge).  There seems to be nothing sweet or innocent about Megan.  I'm not sure if that's what they're going for or not.  

[hoodooznoodooz]

On 4/16/2017 at 5:21 PM, VartanFan said:

I think what Terence meant is that he could very easily end Kyle by outing his secrets, past, fixing of various legal troubles, sic-ing the detective on HIM because he had hte relationship with the dead lady, and outing that he makes sexual partners sign contracts.  That's what I got out of it.  And grody that he was taping the sex...even though I"d hop on film with Michael Vartan in an instant.  ;)

Please clarify: the dead woman is the woman who was role-playing the psychiatrist who had sex with Kyle? Sorry for being so dense. My main excuse is that I am half asleep when I watch this show. Also, what was the point of the psychiatrist role-playing scene? Thank you very much!

[MVFrostsMyPie]

Yes, correct. She was pretending to be a therapist, but I don't think Kyle knew that? My impression was that he thought he was attending legit (probably sanctioned by IHM) therapy sessions, they just happened to have blowjobs and sex attached at the end. 

ETA: I think the point of them was for him to be distracted/sexually satisfied after his breakup with Lisbeth. And then Megan happened to come along and there was no need for the blonde "therapist" anymore. 

Edited April 24, 2017 by MVFrostsMyPie

[STOPSHOUTING]

For a second there I thought that was Anne Heche as the talk show host, which, if it had been, would be some A+ trolling/stunt casting.