S06.E10: Dylan & Ally

[Tara Ariano]

Quote

Dylan receives an anonymous text warning him that his online love, Ally, is not who she says she is, and enlists Nev and Max to help find her. After the mystery texter is revealed, the guys uncover a huge web of deceit.

[Primetimer]

Max and Nev meet Dylan midway through the sleeve of Christian tattoos he's been getting. Will they help prove Ally really is his gift from God?

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[laschifosavita]

Nev must have known that he was going to be checked out for the rest of the episode, because he went way over the top about what Dylan will do when he finds out that Ally isn't real. I really doubt that this is going to make him completely give up on medical school and all of his hopes and dreams.

[Evil-data]

Dylan, stop playin and get that loofah off your head.

[WerWerWer]

Listening to Mary talk gave me the idea that MTV should consider offering mental health aftercare for some of these folks. Not that Mary was particularly sympathetic, or any more so than a lot of other catfish from across the seasons, but she just seemed so young and so "in over her head."  I at least give her credit for having enough self-awareness to recognize that it was going to be extremely difficult for her to stop (unlike, say, Ashley from the Sara and Thaddius epi). With some help, she might stand a better chance. 

[truebluesmoky]

An article from 2014 that I'm too tired to find and link to right now did say that they have mental health professionals on hand for participants.

Despite all the extraneous people, this episode managed to be really boring.

Also, producers, don't go out of your way to show Mary baking after talking about going to culinary school and then have her baking with vegetable oil and a boxed cake mix.

[butterbody]

Holy moley!

 

I'll let myself out.

[GaT]

Ahhh, the show is going back to it’s roots, it’s a fat person.

I thought Chelsea was going to be Mary/Ally, especially since she kind of looked like the pictures, so I was surprised when she wasn’t.

No way is Mary going to stop, she's probably got 10 people on the hook right now.

Edited May 5, 2017 by GaT

[WerWerWer]

9 hours ago, truebluesmoky said:

An article from 2014 that I'm too tired to find and link to right now did say that they have mental health professionals on hand for participants.

I'd be interested to see that article.  Not at all surprised to hear they have professionals on hand during filming, as these kinds of confrontations have the potential to go very, very wrong.  But I was thinking of longer-term aftercare more along the lines of what they offer on shows like Hoarders.  Maybe MTV already does this, but it really doesn't seem like it from what we see.

[Empress1]

7 hours ago, butterbody said:

Holy moley!

 

I'll let myself out.

I felt bad for thinking it but yikes, that was something on the side of her neck. I know firsthand that removal can scar (my derm removed one on my back for health concern reasons & it left a scar) but I'd think any scar would be less distracting than that.

Dylan is a 21-year-old orphan. So sad. Mary is still catfishing right now, I'd bet.

[EDTV]

Mary seemed like a nice girl, but man some people are dealt a really crappy hand in life.

[cometcupid]

7 hours ago, GaT said:

I thought Chelsea was going to be Mary/Ally, especially since she kind of looked like the pictures, so I was surprised when she wasn’t.

Me too! When Chelsea came out, Dylan briefly looked kind of relieved. Chelsea looked like the girl in the pictures enough that they could have easily been pictures of her from a few years ago or from high school when she may have been skinnier. 

[truebluesmoky]

Found it! It also confirms that the catfisher is usually the one who contacts the show AND that the producers know a lot but keep Nev and Max in the dark.

http://www.vulture.com/2014/05/catfish-mtv-casting-production-process.html

[GoGamecox]

I hated the camera work on Mary when Max went into the house to meet her. It was just completely focused on her torso with her head partially cropped off. COME ON. WE GET IT. SHE'S OVERWEIGHT. Now stop.  

[WerWerWer]

1 hour ago, truebluesmoky said:

Found it! It also confirms that the catfisher is usually the one who contacts the show AND that the producers know a lot but keep Nev and Max in the dark.

http://www.vulture.com/2014/05/catfish-mtv-casting-production-process.html

Thanks for doing that!  Very interesting...it says that they send a therapist to talk with the participants after filming wraps.  Which is good, that they don't just leave some of these very vulnerable people hanging after these experiences.  I dunno--normally this show is in the category of amusing trash TV for me, but something about this epi was particularly depressing, like I almost felt squicky for entertaining myself at the expense of Mary's obvious misery and sickness.  (Not judging anyone else who felt otherwise--just how it struck me.)

[zxy556575]

9 hours ago, GaT said:

Ahhh, the show is going back to it’s roots, it’s a fat person.

As someone who loves the recaps but has never watched the show -- hasn't every single catfisher been overweight? Sure seems like it.

[Empress1]

No. Sometimes it's a guy pretending to be a girl or a girl pretending to be a guy (that was the first ep), and there have been catfish who weren't overweight. But a lot of them are.

[AV8n]

I think the true victim here was Mason. I mean, what happened to his wrist? (Please don't let it be sexting). But he and his friend can replace Nev and Max, as they are much better investigators.

The Catfish formula seems to be: average-looking person is in an online relationship with what they think is a supermodel. Once informed that they have not been talking to the person in the photos, they declare that they still hope things can work out. Then the Catfish is revealed to be someone who is not conventionally attractive, and often a different sex/gender than the catfishee was expecting. The Catfish has a sad story about how they sought solace in the anonymity of online dating, and the catfishee is made to look shallow because they still had hope up until the moment they saw who they'd been talking (and sending naughty pics) to.

I can think of one episode where the Catfish did match the photos. He was a total douche, but she ended up hooking up with him. 

Idea: Nev and Max should maintain a database of models with Instagram accounts, to speed up the searches.

[GaT]

2 hours ago, Lord Donia said:

As someone who loves the recaps but has never watched the show -- hasn't every single catfisher been overweight? Sure seems like it.

At the beginning they all were but then they branched out into other types. We haven't had a fat catfish for a while.

[DiabLOL]

3 hours ago, GoGamecox said:

I hated the camera work on Mary when Max went into the house to meet her. It was just completely focused on her torso with her head partially cropped off. COME ON. WE GET IT. SHE'S OVERWEIGHT. Now stop.  

Seriously! I was appalled. I've seen them do that once before. I'm surprised they didn't blast  60s horror monster movie music over it too.

[terrymct]

I have my doubts about Dylan becoming a surgeon. He seems nice enough but lacks critical thinking skills and motivation. Why didn't he just do a little internet sleuthing like those other young men did?

[DiabLOL]

57 minutes ago, terrymct said:

I have my doubts about Dylan becoming a surgeon. He seems nice enough but lacks critical thinking skills and motivation. Why didn't he just do a little internet sleuthing like those other young men did?

Yeah I was thinking the same thing. I worry he'd make a worse surgeon than Mary would a cakeboss.

[gunderda]

I need a 35-ish year old Dylan in my life!

Not sure what took him so long to get his life going (going to college) because 21 is kinda late I would think if you plan to get into the medical field. But he seemed like a super caring guy and I loved that he old Mary that he would be there for her and he actually stuck to it. 

[Pepper Mostly]

18 hours ago, terrymct said:

I have my doubts about Dylan becoming a surgeon. He seems nice enough but lacks critical thinking skills and motivation. Why didn't he just do a little internet sleuthing like those other young men did?

He wants to become a pediatric cardiologist, but at 21 he's still not even in college? Um, ok. Its seems like an oddly specific goal for someone who doesn't seem to be pursuing that goal with much dedication. That said I liked Dylan, he seemed like a very sweet kid who's been dealt a shitty hand. How awful to lose both parents so young. And if he's on his own without brothers and sisters to help, even worse. He must have felt very alone.

Which brings us to Mary. I too thought it was Chelsee, I too was appalled that the camera lingered to make sure we all know how repulsive and horrific a sight Mary was, and I too thought she would never give it up. And her story didn't make sense. She works in a hospital, goes to community college, and wants to be a surgeon? But instead she's going to go to culinary school? 

Chelsee seemed like a nice kid.

[gunderda]

20 hours ago, terrymct said:

I have my doubts about Dylan becoming a surgeon. He seems nice enough but lacks critical thinking skills and motivation. Why didn't he just do a little internet sleuthing like those other young men did?

The other guys didn't have to do much internet sleuthing.  One guy just happened to be friends with Mary's cousin. That's the only way they found her.  Nev and Max couldn't find a single thing. 

[LoneHaranguer]

On 5/4/2017 at 11:28 AM, GoGamecox said:

I hated the camera work on Mary when Max went into the house to meet her. It was just completely focused on her torso with her head partially cropped off.

They were trying to avoid that atrocious double-bun hairdo. She got rid of it for the sit-down the next day. Sometimes I wonder if Catfish are coached to make their initial impression as bad as possible.

On 5/4/2017 at 9:34 AM, Empress1 said:

Mary is still catfishing right now, I'd bet.

Was Max really expecting an answer when he asked her what it would take to stop? She's been doing it for around a third of her life, at least (Chelsee hesitated before saying how old Mary is, so it could be more). A good start might have been to point her to where she could find guys who are into big girls. We know that there are staffers who are internet savvy, even though Nev and Max are kind of worthless.

[DiabLOL]

The woman she stole photos from (Ally?) Posted on Facebook that yes indeedy Mary is back at it.

[ForReal]

I thought Dylan was sweet but not particularly pediatric cardiologist material, I thought Mary was sad and a little ruthless, and I think Max and Nev are just phoning it in. I recall that Max made a resigned comment about going to New Jersey, and I think he made fun of Dylan's hair upon first meeting him on Skype. I think he's done. And Nev? Was he even on this episode?

My favorite line was when they asked Mary if any of the other stuff she'd said was true, and she said, "Maybe some things I said were not correctly right." What an interesting way to describe lying, lol.

I agree that the show should offer therapy to catfish like Mary, not just for her but for all the catfish who watch. It's kind of pointless to tell a catfish how hurtful their actions have been to the catfishee when the catfish has usually suffered a lot of pain inflicted by other people. I'm not saying turnabout is fair play, but pointing out to someone who's been hurt as much as someone like Mary undoubtedly has been that it isn't right to hurt someone is just not helpful. Max at least tried to get her to face the downside of her obsession and to replace it with something that brings about more joy in her life. Five minutes with Max isn't going to be enough to turn her life around, though. She needs more, and maybe viewers like her could benefit as well.

[cmfran]

21 hours ago, Pepper Mostly said:

He wants to become a pediatric cardiologist, but at 21 he's still not even in college? Um, ok. Its seems like an oddly specific goal for someone who doesn't seem to be pursuing that goal with much dedication. That said I liked Dylan, he seemed like a very sweet kid who's been dealt a shitty hand. How awful to lose both parents so young. And if he's on his own without brothers and sisters to help, even worse. He must have felt very alone.

Which brings us to Mary. I too thought it was Chelsee, I too was appalled that the camera lingered to make sure we all know how repulsive and horrific a sight Mary was, and I too thought she would never give it up. And her story didn't make sense. She works in a hospital, goes to community college, and wants to be a surgeon? But instead she's going to go to culinary school? 

Chelsee seemed like a nice kid.

I've found that with a lot of the people I know in their 20s, they seem to think they can be anything they want if they set their sights to it. Even if the goal is completely unreaIistic. I have a co-worker who is 24, and his career goal is "film composer." He doesn't play any musical instruments, and the closest thing he's doing to music is working at his college's radio station. But he seriously thinks being a film composer is an attainable goal for him.

Dylan and Mary seemed to both be in that same mindset. 

[Misslindsey]

Wasn't Dylan working as a nurse? Now, he probably is not a RN (I could be wrong), but at least it is something toward the field he wants to go in. I have a friend who went to med school in his 30's. He was a lawyer prior, but decided he wanted to be a doctor, and he did it. So it is possible. It probably isn't the norm, but it is possible.

[cmfran]

5 hours ago, Misslindsey said:

Wasn't Dylan working as a nurse? Now, he probably is not a RN (I could be wrong), but at least it is something toward the field he wants to go in. I have a friend who went to med school in his 30's. He was a lawyer prior, but decided he wanted to be a doctor, and he did it. So it is possible. It probably isn't the norm, but it is possible.

I don't remember if he was a RN, but if he's not, that's likely an attainable goal for him. Provided that he can keep from getting distracted by catfishers. And if he wants to be a cardiologist, he might want to ease up on the tattoos (visible ones, at least).

[CottlestonPie]

I particularly liked how Mary said that she was an excellent baker and her friends always told her that she should do it professionally, but when they showed her actually baking something it was Funfetti cake mix out of a box.

[LoneHaranguer]

I'm sure the Producer told her to do something quick so they could wrap up the shoot as fast as possible.

[spankydoll]

On ‎5‎/‎6‎/‎2017 at 7:59 AM, cmfran said:

I've found that with a lot of the people I know in their 20s, they seem to think they can be anything they want if they set their sights to it. Even if the goal is completely unreaIistic. I have a co-worker who is 24, and his career goal is "film composer." He doesn't play any musical instruments, and the closest thing he's doing to music is working at his college's radio station. But he seriously thinks being a film composer is an attainable goal for him.

Dylan and Mary seemed to both be in that same mindset. 

That is hysterical. Maybe a ew reality show could be taking a millennial with a delusional career goal and taking them through the education, effort, realities of the job, etc. I have an intern who works for me in the summer. She is graduating with a degree in sports management. My company is sponsoring a high profile sporting event and I am meeting with the event team on a regular basis. I told intern girl that this is a great opportunity for her to network and see the inner workings of the job. Her response was that she googled the company and their headquarters are in another state (not correct they have offices and employees all over the country) so she doesn't see any value in participating but would love to go to the event in the VIP section! And she's applying for a management job with the Red Sox. Updates to follow...

[spankydoll]

On ‎5‎/‎4‎/‎2017 at 1:40 AM, butterbody said:

Holy moley!

 

I'll let myself out.

That's not a tattoo?

Edited May 10, 2017 by spankydoll

[Meisty]

22 hours ago, spankydoll said:

That is hysterical. Maybe a ew reality show could be taking a millennial with a delusional career goal and taking them through the education, effort, realities of the job, etc. I have an intern who works for me in the summer. She is graduating with a degree in sports management. My company is sponsoring a high profile sporting event and I am meeting with the event team on a regular basis. I told intern girl that this is a great opportunity for her to network and see the inner workings of the job. Her response was that she googled the company and their headquarters are in another state (not correct they have offices and employees all over the country) so she doesn't see any value in participating but would love to go to the event in the VIP section! And she's applying for a management job with the Red Sox. Updates to follow...

Lol these kids!  I have one working for me in the IT field he says he wants my bosses job someday but the kid has a total aversion to coming to work.  Not even sure how he still has a job since he calls off for the most bizarre, clearly made up excuses (thirsty Thursdays seem to be a problem) and when he is here we have to worry about what he's doing. In the first couple months on the job he allowed a hacker to log in to a users machine because he didn't have the patience to find a support number on HP's website so instead of calling myself he googled to find a "tech" on the internets to "help" him.  He came running to me because this "tech" told him we needed to remove our network anti-virus immediately because it was infecting our systems.  Phew luckily this kid didn't know how to do that or the company would have lost a lot and this idiot just shrugged it off with his smug little attitude like I had no reason to be concerned.  Ugggghhh millenials!

[EVS]

My dad's close buddy has a granddaughter who graduated a couple years ago with the same degree as my husband. She still doesn't have a job. My dad asked my husband if he could get her an interview where my husband works. My husband told my dad to pass on his contact info. A couple of weeks later, the girl's mother called my husband and basically interviewed him about possible positions for her daughter. She said her daughter would call back if interested, but the mom would call back if she wasn't, because "you know kids these days". Sure enough the mom called back a few days later. My husband was relieved because he wouldn't have recommended her for a job anyway.

The "kids these days" comment made my husband roll his eyes because our oldest is only a year or two younger than this girl and has a good job because he was aggressive enough to go after a position he shouldn't have qualified for (completely different field), without even talking to us first. He impressed his bosses on his own and has earned several promotions already. I can't imagine calling his bosses on his behalf.  IMO, If you can't make a phone call, you're not ready for a grown up job. 

[cmfran]

23 hours ago, EVS said:

My dad's close buddy has a granddaughter who graduated a couple years ago with the same degree as my husband. She still doesn't have a job. My dad asked my husband if he could get her an interview where my husband works. My husband told my dad to pass on his contact info. A couple of weeks later, the girl's mother called my husband and basically interviewed him about possible positions for her daughter. She said her daughter would call back if interested, but the mom would call back if she wasn't, because "you know kids these days". Sure enough the mom called back a few days later. My husband was relieved because he wouldn't have recommended her for a job anyway.

The "kids these days" comment made my husband roll his eyes because our oldest is only a year or two younger than this girl and has a good job because he was aggressive enough to go after a position he shouldn't have qualified for (completely different field), without even talking to us first. He impressed his bosses on his own and has earned several promotions already. I can't imagine calling his bosses on his behalf.  IMO, If you can't make a phone call, you're not ready for a grown up job. 

It's also "parents these days." I couldn't imagine asking one of my parents to make a business call for me when I was that age. I would have been laughed out of the room.

[taeyeon]

the whole intervention thing with max and mary was a bit cringy and dylan literally didn't get a word in. nev rolling his eyes was the most we got out of him lmao. i checked the social media of people in this episode and dylan's... quite... odd and emo on his twitter... and the real ally said mary's still using her photos as of 3 weeks ago