S07.E14: Breana & Josh

[Whimsy]

Quote

Breana has waited to marry Josh for 11 years, but her love fades when the boys uncover the man behind the profile. Now, Josh’s past catches up with him as Nev and Max launch a multistate manhunt to uncover the dark truth.

[missy jo]

Good for Nev and Max advocating for the Parkland victims. 

[AfterwardsTV]

4 hours ago, missy jo said:

Good for Nev and Max advocating for the Parkland victims. 

But then they had to point out how much they aren't against guns because they don't want the gun nuts after them, too much trying to please all sides

[terrymct]

The change in Breana from the beginning to end of this episode was remarkable.  You could see the weight lifted from her shoulders and her confidence came to the surface.  She's one of the few on this show that I really think can change her path significantly after this.   

[LuvMyShows]

WTAF was this episode?  When they "confronted' Josh, no one called him on the BS of how it was ALWAYS dark or his face was obscured for videochatting, EVERY TIME for 11 YEARS, not just what he was trying to say that minimized it to only having happened a few times recently.  Oh, and speaking of minimizing, NO ONE called him on the BS of how he made it sound like there were NO girls he was currently involved with besides Breana, and only one or two girls he used to be with but that he didn't do a good job ending it with them.  And NO ONE called him on the BS of how he managed to visit that other girl but not Breana.   And NO ONE called him on the BS of him saying he has always envisioned a future with Breana, and loves her and wants to be with her, yet he has taken absolutely ZERO steps to accomplish it in 11 YEARS.  And NO ONE told him that since there are many girls out there with the same false hopes, he needs to come clean pronto with ALL of them.  Josh could not have given less f*cks about meeting Breana in person, given that he hugged her like you'd hug your grandma, showed the enthusiasm of a condemned man, and sat as far away as he could from her on the couch.  Considering how Nev was all vigilante justice before they met Josh, I'm guessing the transitional housing thing is what slowed Nev's roll down to barely a crawl, and they basically let him off the hook with not even a slap on the wrist.  

[Whimsy]

2 hours ago, LuvMyShows said:

Considering how Nev was all vigilante justice before they met Josh, I'm guessing the transitional housing thing is what slowed Nev's roll down to barely a crawl, and they basically let him off the hook with not even a slap on the wrist.  

This is what I'm thinking, too.  That and the fact that Breana wasn't buying his crap.  If her resolve was softening and she started acting like she was going to take him back and believe all his crap, I think Nev and Max may have stepped in more.  

I agree about seeing a total different in Breana by the end of the episode.  She physically looked lighter and freer!

[hoosier80]

Josh is a low-key con artist.  He's not making big bank, but he gets enough to get by.  Breana said oh he never seems to keep jobs.  Yeah, because he can just smooth talk his way into getting shelter or food by the many females he's friended.  I don't think he's taking money per se from them, but like his sister said - get a ride to here, stay a few days here, get a meal or some food.  Even his sister seemed to be just about done with him.

The whole transitional housing was that government run or was he looking for the next girl to con?

Damn, she waited eleven years?  Eleven years without seeing him?  She's been of legal age for some time now, so she could have said well I'm coming to meet you.  If he gave another lame excuse, I would say well, sorry, goodbye.  How do you think that someone who wants to marry you doesn't make even one attempt to see you or visit you in eleven years?

He definitely had more than two girls he was talking to currently.  He's a player.  I think Nev and Max backed off the player deal once they heard transitional housing, as they didn't want to be called out for being heartless to someone who's facing such struggles.  The thing is, I think all of Josh's struggles are due to his just wandering around, and doing whatever to get by.  His sister said he always had plans, but nothing ever came of them (hinting that he didn't follow through).

Breana seemed such a nice girl.  Move on, you're so much better than that loser.

[Soobs]

5 hours ago, LuvMyShows said:

  Considering how Nev was all vigilante justice before tey met Josh, I'm guessing the transitional housing thing is what slowed Nev's roll down to barely a crawl, and they basically let him off the hook with not even a slap on the wrist.  

 

18 minutes ago, hoosier80 said:

Josh is a low-key con artist.  

The thing is, I think all of Josh's struggles are due to his just wandering around, and doing whatever to get by.  His sister said he always had plans, but nothing ever came of them (hinting that he didn't follow through).

Breana seemed such a nice girl.  Move on, you're so much better than that loser.

Josh seemed like a traumatized guy who is totally shut down emotionally and in survival mode. Hopefully the transitional housing is one where they teach life skills and offer counseling. I think they didn't want to dig too deeply into all of it as it wouldn't really help Breana and might even make her into saving him.

It made me really sad that Breana had been bullied by racists growing up. I hope she finds someone who values her and is also emotionally present. It made me cringe to think back to my teens and early 20's to all the checked out boys we chased, projecting "the perfect guy" fantasies onto. 

Edited July 26, 2018 by Soobs

[Whimsy]

3 hours ago, Soobs said:

 

Josh seemed like a traumatized guy who is totally shut down emotionally and in survival mode. Hopefully the transitional housing is one where they teach life skills and offer counseling. I think they didn't want to dig too deeply into all of it as it wouldn't really help Breana and might even make her into saving him.

It made me really sad that Breana had been bullied by racists growing up. I hope she finds someone who values her and is also emotionally present. It made me cringe to think back to my teens and early 20's to all the checked out boys we chased, projecting "the perfect guy" fantasies onto. 

 

I agree with both of these statements. Josh really didn’t seem like he’d be a bad guy if he learned from this and grew. 

Im not saying she wasn’t bullied, but if Breana grew up in Minneapolis I’d be surprised. I grew up in the Twin Cities and it’s very diverse. I dont have the numbers, but the African American population is high. 

[GaT]

ELEVEN Years???? How do you “date” someone when you haven’t even seen their face in eleven years? It’s been a long, long, loooooong time since I dated, do couples no longer have any kind of physical relationship? When I dated, you couldn’t stop a guy from trying to get a physical relationship, now there seem to be guys who just want to be online. I can’t understand how you can “date” someone for that long without ever meeting them, the whole thing is just bizarre.

I really thought it was going to turn out to be his friend. I was surprised he was real.

I don’t believe Josh’s story one bit, I think he’s a user who is just skating through life.

[terrymct]

Is anyone watching the Catfish Trolls episodes that follow the regular episodes?   The first episode was interesting enough, a woman confronting her troll and him not really thinking about the person behind the online persona he was attacking.  Pretty much what you expect from the show.  This week's was weird.  Essentially, two people who intensely crave attention and drama going at one another, then neither really feeling bad about what they said about the other.  The second episode was sad, depressing and not really worth watching.

[gesundheit]

Josh was a total con artist who has used that sob story before, and obviously planned to do so in advance of signing on for the episode. Part of me thinks he does actually value Breana only because of the length of their "relationship" -- some of these girls he strung along for a year or two, but he met her when he was a teenager. He probably did rely on her for emotional support, so in a way it's good their friendship is continuing but that she placed a hard boundary there. The way his friend AND his sister were like, "Ha, that sounds like him!" about being a player is why I don't buy his whole "pity me" act.

[Guest]

3 hours ago, gesundheit said:

Josh was a total con artist who has used that sob story before, and obviously planned to do so in advance of signing on for the episode. Part of me thinks he does actually value Breana only because of the length of their "relationship" -- some of these girls he strung along for a year or two, but he met her when he was a teenager. He probably did rely on her for emotional support, so in a way it's good their friendship is continuing but that she placed a hard boundary there. The way his friend AND his sister were like, "Ha, that sounds like him!" about being a player is why I don't buy his whole "pity me" act.

Yeah, and the phrase "player drifter" made me laugh. He just seems like a shoddy con artist with a stubborn Peter Pan complex who uses his self-created financial instability to make girls feel bad enough for him so he doesn't have to worry about food or rent. His sister's reaction especially is why I'm not buying the trauma narrative. If he was struggling with childhood trauma or addiction your response to seeing someone emotionally invested in him would be to thank them and voice your concerns about his well being, not stifle laughter and say "lol yeah he does this a lot, we never know where he goes lmao." All three of his sisters seemed well-adjusted and functional. Josh is clearly the burnout brother of the family who was maybe coddled out of getting his shit together and I'm guessing their mom threw in the towel a few years ago. He just has convincing puppy dog eyes to con insecure women like Breana who don't normally get romantic attention (don't know why, she's beautiful!).

[Gothish520]

On 7/27/2018 at 3:34 AM, GaT said:

ELEVEN Years???? How do you “date” someone when you haven’t even seen their face in eleven years? It’s been a long, long, loooooong time since I dated, do couples no longer have any kind of physical relationship? When I dated, you couldn’t stop a guy from trying to get a physical relationship, now there seem to be guys who just want to be online. I can’t understand how you can “date” someone for that long without ever meeting them, the whole thing is just bizarre.

My sister got divorced a few years ago and is doing the online "dating" thing, and you would be surprised at the guys that she's met who just want to have online "relationships" or affairs, and don't want to meet. They just want to sext or have phone sex, and exchange naked pictures. The conversations turn to sex almost immediately. I never thought I was a prude, I mean I had some fun in the 80s and 90s, but the situation these days turns me right off. 

[GaT]

1 hour ago, Gothish520 said:

My sister got divorced a few years ago and is doing the online "dating" thing, and you would be surprised at the guys that she's met who just want to have online "relationships" or affairs, and don't want to meet. They just want to sext or have phone sex, and exchange naked pictures. The conversations turn to sex almost immediately. I never thought I was a prude, I mean I had some fun in the 80s and 90s, but the situation these days turns me right off. 

I find the whole thing really strange.

[Whimsy]

On 7/27/2018 at 8:59 AM, terrymct said:

Is anyone watching the Catfish Trolls episodes that follow the regular episodes?   The first episode was interesting enough, a woman confronting her troll and him not really thinking about the person behind the online persona he was attacking.  Pretty much what you expect from the show.  This week's was weird.  Essentially, two people who intensely crave attention and drama going at one another, then neither really feeling bad about what they said about the other.  The second episode was sad, depressing and not really worth watching.

There’s a thread for the Trolls episodes. No one’s posted in it in awhile, I think, but it’s there. 

[ForReal]

This was a weak episode. When they were talking to the first girl on FaceTime, they never asked her if she'd met him face to face in the three years that she had been his wifey. I can't think of any good reason not to ask, so something must not have fit the narrative. I do think he felt something for Breana due to the length of their "relationship," but he clearly wasn't in love with her and he was too well-versed at the game. I hope he learns something from all this but I don't have much hope. For Breana, though, I do. I hope her life really takes off after this. I was kinda glad that she hadn't already met someone within the "two months" when they follow up, but I do hope she meets someone wonderful some day.