S08.E01: It's All Greek to Me

[Mollie]

Poor Ben spent so much time and effort planning to celebrate the third wedding anniversary and Jessa did NOTHING.  Ben spent weeks creating a special necklace for Jessa to commemorate the event and Jessa didn't even get Ben a present.  Jessa leaves Ben to watch the kids while she goes to town with her sisters, gets her nails done, gets a pedicure, and has Ben prepare their anniversary dinner.  What did she do for him?  NOTHING.

[queenanne]

13 minutes ago, Mollie said:

Poor Ben spent so much time and effort planning to celebrate the third wedding anniversary and Jessa did NOTHING.  Ben spent weeks creating a special necklace for Jessa to commemorate the event and Jessa didn't even get Ben a present.  Jessa leaves Ben to watch the kids while she goes to town with her sisters, gets her nails done, gets a pedicure, and has Ben prepare their anniversary dinner.  What did she do for him?  NOTHING.

Just the way Jessa likes husbands!  Whipped and inexplicably grateful she ever looked at him!  

[trimthatfat]

12 minutes ago, Mollie said:

Poor Ben spent so much time and effort planning to celebrate the third wedding anniversary and Jessa did NOTHING.  Ben spent weeks creating a special necklace for Jessa to commemorate the event and Jessa didn't even get Ben a present.  Jessa leaves Ben to watch the kids while she goes to town with her sisters, gets her nails done, gets a pedicure, and has Ben prepare their anniversary dinner.  What did she do for him?  NOTHING.

Methinks Queen Jessa believes it’s her world and Ben as a mere mortal is lucky to live in it.

[Triple P]

43 minutes ago, winsomeone said:

When they showed Josiah's baby picture, I thought Gideon looks an awful lot like him?

I agree. Baby Josiah and Gideon were practically identical twins. 

[libgirl2]

Did anyone catch the testicle line? When Joe and Kendra were in the market looking at food, their guide was saying the different kinds of meats and she mentioned that! 

[flyingdi]

More funnies from last night:

Ben mangling the name Odysseus though props to Ben for knowing there was an Odysseus.

Lauren -"I'm so thankful to y'all for being so nice to us since we moved up here! "

Jessa-"We know why you moved here!   There's someone you like a little more than the rest! "

Joy-"Yeah, me! ". Joy seemed more relaxed than she has in years, I liked it!

Edited July 31, 2018 by flyingdi

[WarnerCL45]

43 minutes ago, Mollie said:

Poor Ben spent so much time and effort planning to celebrate the third wedding anniversary and Jessa did NOTHING.  Ben spent weeks creating a special necklace for Jessa to commemorate the event and Jessa didn't even get Ben a present.  Jessa leaves Ben to watch the kids while she goes to town with her sisters, gets her nails done, gets a pedicure, and has Ben prepare their anniversary dinner.  What did she do for him?  NOTHING.

We don’t know what’s going on in their marriage.  Some guys like to make a big, public splash, so everyone can see how caring they are.

[MV713]

So confusing with the back tracking of the weddings/honeymoons/courtships/babies - why not just show everything in order TLC?

I though Lauren's hair was atrocious at her wedding - whatever curling iron curls they made fell out immediately and her one piece of hair was just hanging there the whole time.

[what]

Josiah asking Lauren if they were going to go fast or go slow made me snort. Putting myself in the prayer closet now. 

[QuinnInND]

12 minutes ago, what said:

Josiah asking Lauren if they were going to go fast or go slow made me snort. Putting myself in the prayer closet now. 

*makes room in the prayer closet for @what*

[Whyyouneedaname]

Josiah saying he told Ms. Cindy to pair him & Lauren together working on J&K wedding I thought "ok she's playing matchmaker here, maybe Jana's next" then I figured she ask her the same thing and she told her "Laura & I will do so & so", per Jessa, Jana's just doing her own thing anyway ?

[Julia67]

A few observations:

Kendra's perfect teeth remind me of chiclets gum.  And her laugh is beyond annoying.

Do these kids get to choose their honeymoon destinations or does TLC pay and send them.  It's interesting to me that they've all chosen foreign travel and all somewhere different??  They seem more like the Pigeon Forge, Branson, camping in the mountains types.  (There's nothing wrong with that but all the foreign travel is interesting to me.)

I also thought Lauren's hair looked awful at the wedding.  But her dress was stylish and pretty and not typical, which was nice to see.

It was interesting that Jana and Joy were the only Duggar girls in the wedding.  I assume most of the bridesmaids were Lauren's sisters--they looked more like junior bridesmaids though.

The bridesmaids dresses looked stylish, too.  Or at least they didn't look like they were ordered from some modesty website and then added to so they were uber-modest.

The mother of the bride and groom dresses were AWFUL!  And why do they always wear the same color as the bridesmaids?  Is that a regional thing?

The violin playing the hymns was awful.  Who comes down the aisle to "All Hail the Pow'r of Jesus Name"?  Weird hymn choice.

Was that Lauren's baby sibling in the car seat?  OMG  Make it stop!!

I thought Lauren was refreshing and seemed to have her own mind.  Should be interesting!

[louannems]

48 minutes ago, what said:

Josiah asking Lauren if they were going to go fast or go slow made me snort. Putting myself in the prayer closet now. 

And the good, compliant, obedient, submissive girl replied that it's all up to HIM.  She had no opinion of her own.

[trimthatfat]

48 minutes ago, MV713 said:

 

I though Lauren's hair was atrocious at her wedding - whatever curling iron curls they made fell out immediately and her one piece of hair was just hanging there the whole time.

Yes! Lauren’s hair looked very nice when she was getting her makeup done, but by the time she went to get her dad, the curls fell. I wonder if it was humid that day.

[sugarplum]

2 hours ago, MMLEsq said:

I thought I was used to all of the rules and traditions, etc. that we've seen on this show, but I have to say I was majorly creeped out by the father-daughter "first look."  I really hope this is not becoming a real thing that people do now.  If anyone had suggested that my father and I do that at my wedding, we would have looked at the person like they have three heads.

I didn’t watch the episode, but as a wedding photographer, I can confirm that this is definitely a thing. Some weddings are more “structured” about it, but many brides want special pictures of their dads seeing them for the first time in their gown. I’m in the south - maybe it’s a regional thing, not sure. I think it’s sweet, but I didn’t have a daddy-daughter first look at my own wedding (perhaps it was before it was really a thing?). We had intended to do pictures with my immediate family prior to the ceremony, so I guess that could have been considered a first look. As it turned out, my photographer was over an hour late and we didn’t have time for any family pictures before the ceremony. My dad saw me for the first time when he walked me down the aisle. And I met him halfway down - when I said when he walked me down, I mean that was literally the first time he saw me. We didn’t even have a few minutes alone before the processional. Haha! I have to say, I have taken some pretty sweet, pretty emotional pictures of daddy’s seeing daughters for the first time. I’m an emotional girl and I’m usually boohooing behind my camera during those moments. 

[Marigold]

I didn't see the entire episode because I fell asleep.  (shocking, I know)

I liked Lauren more than I thought I would.  She seems to have some personality and humor.  Pleasantly surprised with her.  I also saw a bit more chemistry with Josiah and Lauren than I originally thought.  

[Ijustwantsomechips]

11 hours ago, Misslindsey said:

I thought he was going to say he learned it from Josie, when he said Kendra would be surprised who he learned it from.

I do not mind Kendra's giggling. I have a nervous laugh, so if I was being filmed I probably would be just as annoying.

I think Kendra would be good at selling used cars at the car lot. She would have to stop giggling so much, but I think she would be good at it.

Henry and Spurge are adorable.

I will be at my table for one in not being enamored with Jinger and Jeremy. 

Pull up a chair for me please. I find them annoying in that trying too hard to be perfect way.

[libgirl2]

10 minutes ago, Marigold said:

I didn't see the entire episode because I fell asleep.  (shocking, I know)

I liked Lauren more than I thought I would.  She seems to have some personality and humor.  Pleasantly surprised with her.  I also saw a bit more chemistry with Josiah and Lauren than I originally thought.  

I saw some too. 

Kendra and Joe have tons of chemistry. They are gaga for each other. 

[Maya]

3 hours ago, MMLEsq said:

I thought I was used to all of the rules and traditions, etc. that we've seen on this show, but I have to say I was majorly creeped out by the father-daughter "first look."  I really hope this is not becoming a real thing that people do now.  If anyone had suggested that my father and I do that at my wedding, we would have looked at the person like they have three heads.

I’m sorry but Lauren’s dad was the creepiest thing I’ve seen on my TV in a long time. Her mom seems off too. 

[toomuchtv]

On the boat did they do the “titanic” thing? Would they even have been allowed to see that?? 

Also, I wonder if the rules are loosening? I thought in the past someone even had to be around to listen in on phone calls. Now they have hours long calls or video chats with no chaperone? 

[libgirl2]

1 minute ago, toomuchtv said:

On the boat did they do the “titanic” thing? Would they even have been allowed to see that?? 

I thought the same thing! I do seem to remember there was a "clean" version of that movie available at one time. Maybe they saw that? 

[trimthatfat]

2 hours ago, WarnerCL45 said:

Grabbing the bride, running down the aisle?  Would have been some mess, had he tripped!

I cackled when the veil partially obscured Josiah’s face. I expected them both to fall. I don’t know why these families can’t do a simple exit. Exit shots of newly married couples can make great photographs and I doubt their photographer was able to get a decent one of the couple leaving down the aisle.

7 minutes ago, Maya said:

I’m sorry but Lauren’s dad was the creepiest thing I’ve seen on my TV in a long time. Her mom seems off too. 

He seemed like a caricature of a Southern Baptist dad. He was just so cheesy and “gosh, golly” about the whole thing.

Anyone know why Lauren’s mom was running to where the bridal party had lined up before the ceremony? Did they forget to let her know the procession was beginning?

[graefin]

12 minutes ago, toomuchtv said:

On the boat did they do the “titanic” thing? Would they even have been allowed to see that?? 

They've probably never even heard of it. I'm guessing the producers set it up.

[flyingdi]

Is Dwain Swanson Jim Bob's long lost brother?  Josiah, you're supposed to marry a girl who reminds you of your mom, not a girl whose dad is a clone of your dad!

[saylubee]

I’m pretty sure the AC was messed up in the church which is why the hair was so bad on everyone.  During any of the crowd shots, more then a handful of guests would be fanning themselves with the program.  The bridesmaids/groomsmen looked particularly miserable standing there and rolled their eyes quite a bit like they wanted it to hurry up, more then usual for a Duggar wedding.

[libgirl2]

1 minute ago, saylubee said:

I’m pretty sure the AC was messed up in the church which is why the hair was so bad on everyone.  During any of the crowd shots, more then a handful of guests would be fanning themselves with the program.  The bridesmaids/groomsmen looked particularly miserable standing there and rolled their eyes quite a bit like they wanted it to hurry up, more then usual for a Duggar wedding.

I thought some people looked sweaty. 

[3 is enough]

I like Kendra, giggle aside.  She seems very friendly and open to new experiences.  She readily admits that everything is new to her.  It's sad that at 19 she is already a mother, and her days of travelling with her husband and seeing more of the world are over. She seems like the kind of young woman who would have taken full advantage of a college education.   Loved the Greek woman's reaction to the amount of kids in the Duggar family.  You could tell she thought they were bat shit crazy.  

Again with the freaking modesty bathing suit!  It looks so ridiculous, and the way it clings when wet really isn't modest at all.  

Josiah and Lauren seemed to be more compatible than I originally thought.  

Poor Ben.  All that work and not even a card in return.  

Austin seemed a bit less uptight than he seemed in the past.  He may just be uncomfortable on camera.  The exchanges between him (he?) and Joy when they were drawing the pictures of each other seemed genuine, and it looks like he was a bit shell shocked by the upcoming birth.  Maybe there is hope for them limiting their family size, especially given that he only has one sibling.

51 minutes ago, libgirl2 said:

I thought some people looked sweaty. 

Lauren's dad had a bright red face.  He looked very uncomfortable.

Edited July 31, 2018 by 3 is enough

[Natalie68]

14 hours ago, lascuba said:

Holy god how can none of them name a single figure from Greek mythology? WHO HASN'T HEARD OF ZEUS?! Looks like Ben really is interested in educating himself. And I suspect that Jeremy was pretending some ignorance to not highlight how stupid his wife and her family are. He knows how these things work. 

Wait what?  I can't watch so I am vicariously living through you all and this is interesting.  Are you telling me none of them knew ANYTHING about Greek mythology?

13 hours ago, scenicbyway said:

Joe picks up his plate and licks it clean?  Yikes!  Kendra's giggling might be annoying yet age appropriate, but there's no excuse for a grown man not having table manners. I wonder if he has a learning disability?

Jessa and Ben seem happy and so do Jinger and Jeremy.

Seriously?  This settles it.  They are all one step above the feral children you read about in far off places.  I have never seen an actual person do this unless it was some exaggerated movie scene in the same vein as Dumb and Dumber (which I have never seen in its entirety and it ruined the actors for me for some time).

[Natalie68]

4 hours ago, sigmaforce86 said:

You might be right and if so that also makes Jeremy more self-aware and empathetic than Jim Bob, most of the Duggar boys, some of the Duggar girls and a few of the spouses <cough-Derrick-cough> .  Jinger's no dummy either, sheltered yes but not unable to learn - I'd guess that her world has been expanding by leaps and bounds since she got married which must take a lot of patience on JerBabe's part to teach her without making her feel silly or stupid.

I'm with you!  As much as we tease about the Duggar's being resistant to trying new things especially when it comes for "foreign" food I guess we all have our limits and being strapped to those seats and raised that high would have been a big NOPE for me.  And when they reclined their chairs I could hardly watch.  So extra points for them trying that one. Greece is so beautiful - This old lady first fell in love with it through the movie Shirley Valentine and a lot of the areas they were in last night are still as pretty as I remember.

Austin showed emotion twice!  Progress, he does have other facial expressions!

The rest was pretty predictable - Ben & Jessa do married things, Joy talks about the baby, JB and MeChelle make one brief appearance to remind us they still exist, TLC pretends Jill, Derrick and Josh don't exist (and by extension Anna and the kids who don't deserve to be ignored but are hiplocked to Josh), wedding night baby expectations still the norm as Kendra is immediately asked when she's going to be pregnant.  Kendra giggles (a lot!), Up coming season is full of "surprises" that we already know about because they happened months ago and had 27 People articles already covering them.  

Super movie!  

[lascuba]

26 minutes ago, Natalie68 said:

Wait what?  I can't watch so I am vicariously living through you all and this is interesting.  Are you telling me none of them knew ANYTHING about Greek mythology?

Seriously?  This settles it.  They are all one step above the feral children you read about in far off places.  I have never seen an actual person do this unless it was some exaggerated movie scene in the same vein as Dumb and Dumber (which I have never seen in its entirety and it ruined the actors for me for some time).

Not a thing. Jana was the first asked and she said no with this face like the producer was the stupid one for asking. The two sets of boys were all laughing it up and saying no, though I think one of them mentioned Hercules? Jeremy said, "Uh, Zeus?" and claimed ingorance on more, though I think he was playing dumb. Jessa laughingly said no but that Ben knows. And Ben rattled off a list and then asked if they wanted him to keep going. If we needed any proof that it's TLC that picks out the honeymoon locations, we got it and then some. None of these people know anything about anywhere that would give them a desire to see a specific location (other than the ark encounter and Israel). 

Edited July 31, 2018 by lascuba

[Natalie68]

12 minutes ago, lascuba said:

Not a thing. Jana was the first asked and she said no with this face like the producer was the stupid one for asking. The two sets of boys were all laughing it up and saying no, though I think one of them mentioned Hercules? Jeremy said, "Uh, Zeus?" and claimed ingorance on more, though I think he was playing dumb. Jessa laughingly said no but that Ben knows. And Ben rattled off a list and then asked if they wanted him to keep going. If we needed any proof that it's TLC that picks out the honeymoon locations, we got it and then some. None of these people know anything about anywhere that would give them a desire to see a specific location (other than the ark encounter and Israel). 

WOW.  My guess is they only knew Hercules because it was a Disney movie.  I find it shameful that anyone claiming to be a graduate of high school or has taken the GED to not be able to name a handful of the most common Greek Gods.  

[humbleopinion]

I thought the reason to show young Josiah dropping the baby doll pranking the TLC photographer was the prelude to him dropping Lauren as he sprinted out the wedding ceremony...

That would be worth staying awake for....

Edited July 31, 2018 by humbleopinion

[graefin]

1 hour ago, 3 is enough said:

Lauren's dad had a bright red face.  He looked very uncomfortable.

That looks like a sunburn. You can see the outline of where his sunglasses would sit. He might want to invest in some sunblock and a good hat, particularly if he wants to stick around to get to know any grandchildren the lord may or may not bless Josiah and Lauren with.

[Pingaponga]

From becoming friends to getting married - 9 months, according to Lauren.  Included in that 9 months is a 6 week courtship and 4 month engagement. And she's 19.  Really??  I just don't get these people.

[skippy]

15 hours ago, scenicbyway said:

Joe picks up his plate and licks it clean?  Yikes!  Kendra's giggling might be annoying yet age appropriate, but there's no excuse for a grown man not having table manners. I wonder if he has a learning disability?

Jessa and Ben seem happy and so do Jinger and Jeremy.

Did you catch that when Joe told Kendra, "Other people in my family do it", she replied, "Yes, I'm sure they do."  There may be hope for Kendra.

13 hours ago, flyingdi said:

My friend took one look at Lauren and said, "Now there's a girl with an agenda.  She seems like a very calculating young woman."

Not sure I see it but she does seem very self possessed and not lacking in confidence.

I agree with your friend.

14 hours ago, lascuba said:

I thought Kendra was less giggly than usual. Just me?

Yes.

[skippy]

6 hours ago, lascuba said:

If *I* were of--let's be kind to Ben and say "average" intelligence, and living among people so thoroughly ignorant that I was considered the smart and educated one, I'd grow pretty superior about it, too. It has to be irritating to live and interact with people who are not only ignorant, but completely incurious about everything.  It's really fucking appalling that those kids weren't even allowed to learn about gods that no one worships anymore, especially since it's actually related to the events of the New Testament, with so much of Roman culture and religion modeled after the Greek. And wasn't the Bible originally written in Greek, or am I misremembering? It really struck me that the one historical reference Joe and Kendra made when in Greece was about Paul. All those historical monuments everywhere, and the one related to Jesus is the only one they were interested in. 

The only "history" these fools were taught was the Bible with zero real historical context, and the KKK version of American history. It's shameful and they should be made to feel ashamed about it. Rock on, Ben.

I agree with your analysis, but not your conclusion.  Ignorance can be remedied, and maybe these foreign trips are just the thing to spark some interest and curiousity in the traveler. They might just pass that on to their children.  I can't advocate shaming them (or anyone else, for that matter) because of what they've never had the opportunity to learn.

[libgirl2]

19 minutes ago, skippy said:

Did you catch that when Joe told Kendra, "Other people in my family do it", she replied, "Yes, I'm sure they do."  There may be hope for Kendra.

I agree with your friend.

Yes.

Just because your Fundie doesn't mean you shouldn't have manners. 

[skippy]

3 hours ago, Maya said:

I’m sorry but Lauren’s dad was the creepiest thing I’ve seen on my TV in a long time. Her mom seems off too. 

Agreed.

[Ijustwantsomechips]

I'm sure Jessa repaid Ben for the necklace with nature’s credit card. I loved Henry’s bellbuster crawl. 

It was difficult finding something to snark on this episode. Joe and Kendra seemed to enjoy Greece,and Kendra does seem kind. I also appreciated that she knew everything was a new experience to her. Poor thing really has been sheltered, but her mind is somewhat open, unlike her in-laws.  If she enjoys striking up conversations with strangers, then there’s hope for her and little Garrett.  She also has table manners and a sense of what’s impolite in public. Caldwells: 2; Duggars: 0.

Lauren didn’t sound breathy, so that was a relief.  Si actually played it pretty smooth with sliding courtship into the conversation about him.  No Duggar has game, so that’s as good as it gets.  

Austin was less prickish.  He had the look of fear any young man would with an impending birth.  Maybe Giddyup will force him to loosen up.  

No Boob and Clown Car, so YAY!!!

[ginger90]

Just saw a clip that showed the outside, and inside the front door,  of the Swanson house. It looked like quite the house! The steps out front would not be for me, though. Did they show more of it during the show?

[Natalie68]

9 minutes ago, skippy said:

I agree with your analysis, but not your conclusion.  Ignorance can be remedied, and maybe these foreign trips are just the thing to spark some interest and curiousity in the traveler. They might just pass that on to their children.  I can't advocate shaming them (or anyone else, for that matter) because of what they've never had the opportunity to learn.

But they do and did have the opportunity to learn.  They just don't have the will or curiosity.  They also have the tools and money to get whatever knowledge they wish to possess but they don't do it.  These Duggar kids have been places I never have and managed to learn not one thing.

[3 is enough]

Quote

I'm sure Jessa repaid Ben for the necklace with nature’s credit card.

That's exactly what I was thinking!

[Sew Sumi]

Speaking of Duggar travels, thanks to Boob, WE learned where King James wrote the bible. *snicker*

[skippy]

1 minute ago, Natalie68 said:

But they do and did have the opportunity to learn.  They just don't have the will or curiosity.  They also have the tools and money to get whatever knowledge they wish to possess but they don't do it.  These Duggar kids have been places I never have and managed to learn not one thing.

What I meant by not having the opportunity is that I'm pretty sure the only reading done in that house was the Bible and other religious material. I doubt if JB and Me ever encouraged them to dream about foreign and exotic places, or to study other religions and cultures.  I realize they've gone on family trips abroad, but that was under JB's watchful eye and with the attitude that they were doing foreigners a blessing by visiting whatever foreign place they might be in.  JB is the classic "Ugly American".   The natural curiousity has been blanket-trained right out of them.  But I'm going to hold on to hope that there may be a few who can come back from the brainwashing they've grown up with.

[Natalie68]

3 minutes ago, skippy said:

What I meant by not having the opportunity is that I'm pretty sure the only reading done in that house was the Bible and other religious material. I doubt if JB and Me ever encouraged them to dream about foreign and exotic places, or to study other religions and cultures.  I realize they've gone on family trips abroad, but that was under JB's watchful eye and with the attitude that they were doing foreigners a blessing by visiting whatever foreign place they might be in.  JB is the classic "Ugly American".   The natural curiousity has been blanket-trained right out of them.  But I'm going to hold on to hope that there may be a few who can come back from the brainwashing they've grown up with.

Very true!  Sad thing is their god gave them a brain and all of them seem to be afraid to use it as intended.  

[skippy]

1 minute ago, Natalie68 said:

Very true!  Sad thing is their god gave them a brain and all of them seem to be afraid to use it as intended.  

We can definitely agree on that!

[humbleopinion]

 So sad I know this... but does anyone else remember when on a trip Jimblob answered si when he was spoken to in a foreign language clearly not Spanish just like Joe did in the Greece episode?

Please don't edit Joe as JimBlob 2.0.

I don't want to hate Joe.

[Natalie68]

3 minutes ago, humbleopinion said:

 So sad I know this... but does anyone else remember when on a trip Jimblob answered si when he was spoken to in a foreign language clearly not Spanish just like Joe did in the Greece episode?

Please don't edit Joe as JimBlob 2.0.

I don't want to hate Joe.

Si!  I do!  Wasn't it when they were in Japan?

I am still reeling over an actual adult licking their plate clean.  It is disturbing my brain.

[Misslindsey]

8 minutes ago, humbleopinion said:

 So sad I know this... but does anyone else remember when on a trip Jimblob answered si when he was spoken to in a foreign language clearly not Spanish just like Joe did in the Greece episode?

Please don't edit Joe as JimBlob 2.0.

I don't want to hate Joe.

At least Joe acknowledged that he said it. So there is that.

[humbleopinion]

You know that is a tacky Jimblob move... licking the plate...

Kendrab, stop Joe from ever doing that again in front of the camera.

Edited July 31, 2018 by humbleopinion