S03.E10: Oh, Nathaniel, It's On!

[DianeDobbler]

6 hours ago, AllyB said:

I think some of the problems with the episodes since the diagnosis have been because massive breakdown and diagnosis came too soon. I loooooved the Swimfan episode but I remember when it was over thinking, what next? There are nearly two whole series to go. What can possibly fill all of those episodes. I'd assumed Rebecca hating Josh and tormenting him would be more of a slow boil across the season and would culminate in her breakdown with season 4 being where she and everyone around her realised the extent of her issues and she worked on them. But the Josh Groban song subverted that expectation because it would have been too neat a narrative. So even though I was worried by what would fill nearly 2 seasons of post breakdown Rebecca, I trusted that it was all part of the master plan. But I'm less convinced now.
 

Agreed. It was a great episode, but I thought it would be more of a plot driver, not a one-off. The show reassured that Rebecca would backslide, but if I'd known that "backsliding" was code for a half season of Rebecca/Nathan screwing, I would have taken a pass.

I've complained a lot how this Nathaniel/Rebecca thing annoys me already, and plenty, but just one more thing that gets under my skin. Back in the days when we'd watch DVD's with director commentary, I noticed an annoying tendency of the director to swoon about how hot his/her actors were in a scene, to where I'd hit mute. Sex and the City DVDs did it right and left - Sarah Jessica Parker stretched in one shot while wearing a wife beater, and the show runner goes "The crew really thanked us for that shot." (Gross - AND, more to the point, it wasn't even that hot. There's just a show runner tendency to tell us all the time how hot someone is, even when that's not a story point.) And it's all over the commentary on the original "Bridget Jones Diary" movie. The director swoons so much over every frame I got squicked out.

 I feel that on CEG and Nathaniel and Rebecca. The diagnosis is an pretext for the story to showcase how hot CEG thinks they are, and implicit is that we agree and will accept any pretext that shows them getting it on, however sloppy and hasty.  

Quote

... I noticed this too. I also noticed how despite how she's never really there for Heather as her friend she is the one paying Heather's share of the rent on their apartment. It's not that she's a selfish person who doesn't care about her friends. It's just that she is only willing to be generous in ways that she finds easy to be generous.

Well, I least they are so explicit about it, it's canon, it's conscious, and we and the writers are on the same page. They're not blowing it off or saying it's cute, or that Rebecca is justified (for contrast you can read where SATC fans depart from the writer point of view when it comes to Carrie). I hope my confidence is not misplaced that this self-centeredness will be called to account. She's very generous, often impulsively so, she has a big heart, but when she's obsessed about something, there isn't any room for anything else. Heather got tuned out, and she's so self-referential she doesn't see past her own convenience or biases. 

Edited January 31, 2018 by DianeDobbler

[LisaM]

I cringed through most of the Rebecca scenes but adored all of Heather's until her decision to carry the baby. Talk about something from way out of left field! 

Josh wandering into the podcast with his bag of chips seemed so weird and unnecessary - merely a vehicle to show us that Josh was now living with Hector and his mom so that Hector could move out. I agree with other posters above - why is Josh still on the show? 

Where was George, the semi-voice of reason at Whitefeather?

[dubbel zout]

4 hours ago, LisaM said:

Where was George, the semi-voice of reason at Whitefeather?

Didn't Nathaniel fire him (again)? 

[Bruinsfan]

On 1/28/2018 at 4:05 PM, huahaha said:

I think reasonable people could disagree on this. I don't personally consider egg donation any different from giving a baby up for adoption. Many kids want/expect a relationship with their bio parents at some point.

Yeah, but that's their decision. Once that adoption goes through, any contact the bio parents have should be on the say-so of the adoptive parents, or the kids once they reach adulthood—the people who gave them up should only have the right to decline further contact, not demand it.

I think people are overlooking Darryl's excessively clingy and validation-hungry personality in all this. It may be that a super-involved egg donor/bio mother would suit him just fine, especially now that he's single.

 

On a completely shallow note, when did Erick Lopez become smoking hot? I don't recall him looking nearly this good when Hector was hanging out with the Joshes and Greg in previous seasons.

[DianeDobbler]

Co-signed - Eric Lopez is looking good. I think it helps that he and Vella Lovell look good together. When they're in the same shot, something about her highlights the handsomeness of his face. His acting is pretty good too - low key, but effective.

Does anyone else think Scott Michael Thomas is NOT a "Fit hot guy" hunk? I see him as basically a leading man type, not a "hunk" type. Tall, conventionally nice looks, but not swivel my head off my neck looks, in face or body. You wouldn't cast him as that type. He himself said the Nathaniel casting call called for a WASP, not a hunk. Apparently he also auditioned for Greg but the show runners say he was too good looking. SMT says that's just flattery - he thinks they wanted a much stronger singer than he was. I think SMT's is the reality-based take. But anyway, take away the haircut and the clothes, put him in a flannel shirt, t shirt and scruffier hair, he's not some obvious Adonis.

[Bruinsfan]

I said something to that effect after the striptease episode. I mean, the guy's not cracking mirrors or anything, but to me he's "goodlooking in a guy next door way," not someone to pin up posters of. I completely get why Rebecca would have gone all in for Nathaniel after their early conflicts revved her adrenaline up and then he turned out to be supportive in the wake of her suicide attempt, but I don't think he'd be turning heads on the street or in clubs unless someone was aware of his father's net worth.

[Empress1]

Agreed. He’s fit but I wouldn’t describe him as hot. Doesn’t do much for me, and his look doesn’t scream “central casting sent over a hunk.”

[nightowl1989]

Have any of you ever seen Greek? SMF was on that show as Cappie and he had the long shaggy hair and typical fratty, grungy type outfits. But I swear he was cuter that way- more like the goofy cute college guy you crush on half because of his humor and half because of his adorableness, less because of being super hot and in shape. 

Edited February 3, 2018 by nightowl1989

[ElectricBoogaloo]

All this discussion of SMT’s attractiveness reminds me of something I read about Kate Middleton a few years ago: she’s pretty in an average way (not ugly and not drop dead stunningly gorgeous) but she is always impeccably dressed and groomed which ups her attractiveness level. I can see the same being said for Nathaniel. He’s in that vast middle ground where his face doesn’t stand out as hot male model or fug, but because Nathaniel is successful, confident, and dressed well, that increases his attractiveness. But if you saw him in a hoodie slumped over his laptop in the corner of a coffee shop, you might not even notice him. As an actor that can work to your advantage because being a chamoleon allows you a wider range of roles. 

[Irlandesa]

15 hours ago, nightowl1989 said:

Have any of you ever seen Greek?

I have. I liked Cappie there.  Although I was always more interested in Evan*/Jake McDornan looks-wise and acting-wise.  I do think Cappie was better written than Nathaniel even though the writers here are trying to make Nathaniel more complex. The problem is that his more complexities aren't working to make him more likeable to me. 

*Huh. As I write that. I realize Evan was who I think they'd like Nathaniel to be. 

[aradia22]

I didn't feel like commenting on the last episode because it felt like filler but I really enjoyed this one. I loved the silly meta humor when Rebecca was trying to rile up the office and turn them against "series regular" (he eats bran in the spring) Nathaniel. I also liked the tango. I always love a tango. The lyrics were more on the juvenile side for the show which isn't my favorite but I continue to be impressed by the dancing. Were there body doubles or was it the two of them the whole time? I ask because there were some cuts or angles where they could have swapped someone out. I also liked the callbacks even if I had to see Dr. Phil which... why?