S01.E08: Fight Or Flight

[HazelEyes4325]

2 hours ago, Gothish520 said:

True enough, but I don't think Delilah is all that broken up about being pregnant. If Jon were still around she would certainly have a lot of explaining to do. She and Eddie definitely were not thinking straight, probably for a long time. This is what happens when you let your emotions get the best of you.

 

When the condom broke and Delilah decided to do nothing, Jon was still alive and she had no idea (unless there is one hell of a twist coming up) that he would be dead in a few weeks.  I would think the fact that she was cheating on her husband with his best friend would be even more of an impetus to prevent a pregnancy.

2 hours ago, Gothish520 said:

ETA: the difference between my perspective and the perspective of others is that I don't think that Eddie and Delilah are pieces of crap for screwing up royally. It probably bears repeating that cheating is awful and horrible and if it ever happened in my relationship I can't imagine how I would react. But still, I don't hate them. They are fallible human beings and they made some big mistakes.

 

I don't see either as being pieces of crap for screwing up.  I do see Delilah as being, as you put it, a piece of crap because she is using and manipulating those around her.  I see Eddie as being problematic because his immaturity is enabled by those around him and he *still* hasn't realized that maybe he should grow up.

Also, this is not a big mistake.  A big mistake is sleeping with your best friend's wife/your husband's best friend *once.*  If you do it more than once, it is a decision. 

[Guest]

9 hours ago, possibilities said:

The thing about Maggie is: she's dying.  She doesn't want to deal with Gary's issues, she just wants to live out her remaining days in the way she considers her most peaceful. She's not his therapist. It's not her job to take care of Gary. She didn't ask him to take care of her, either. She just asked him to butt out if he couldn't go along with it. It's kind of the minimum you can ask of anyone.

It's harder to remember she's dying when we see her going running, and generally living the life of a healthy, active person. If she were looking like hell and lying in bed with hospice nurses by her side, her position would be obvious and Gary's behavior would be seen as monstrous. But the bottom line is: he needs to deal with his feelings and issues and not dump them on Maggie.

I completely agree with you. I don’t have a problem with the way Gary is feeling but I have a big problem with him pushing those feelings onto Maggie. She made it abundantly clear what she needed from him and he chooses time and time again to ignore her. He has zero respect for her boundaries or her choices. 

I know it’s not going to happen but I would prefer that their relationship be over for good. Maggie’s job should make her realize that neither of them are ready for a healthy relationship at the moment. 

Edited December 10, 2018 by Guest

[sinkwriter]

Quote

The thing about Maggie is: she's dying.  She doesn't want to deal with Gary's issues, she just wants to live out her remaining days in the way she considers her most peaceful. She's not his therapist. It's not her job to take care of Gary. She didn't ask him to take care of her, either. She just asked him to butt out if he couldn't go along with it. It's kind of the minimum you can ask of anyone.

Very true, possibilities. It's just that we're often too close to the subject to see it clearly, so I doubt Gary's thinking it through consciously or rationally. He's acting with emotion (understandably so, even if it isn't fair or "right" behavior). Also, it's a pretty big "minimum" to ask of another person who has gone through cancer (especially while still hanging out with his friends, whom she's only known for a month).

One of my issues with it is that his own friends aren't there for him through this - not one of them came out to talk with him or to verbalize that they understand what he's feeling (while gently reminding him that it's Maggie's decision).  I don't know if that should be chalked up to shitty friends or shitty writing (so that they could force the Gary-sleeps-with-Ashley incident).

Edited December 10, 2018 by sinkwriter

[HazelEyes4325]

1 hour ago, sinkwriter said:

Very true, possibilities. It's just that we're often too close to the subject to see it clearly, so I doubt Gary's thinking it through consciously or rationally. He's acting with emotion (understandably so, even if it isn't fair or "right" behavior). Also, it's a pretty big "minimum" to ask of another person who has gone through cancer (especially while still hanging out with his friends, whom she's only known for a month).

One of my issues with it is that his own friends aren't there for him through this - not one of them came out to talk with him or to verbalize that they understand what he's feeling (while gently reminding him that it's Maggie's decision).  I don't know if that should be chalked up to shitty friends or shitty writing (so that they could force the Gary-sleeps-with-Ashley incident).

 

I chalk it up to shitty writing.  All these characters *should* be grieving in some way--which it doesn't seem that they are, and that undermines this whole story.  Right now, it seems like Gary is the only one of the adults dealing with any grief whatsoever.  I mean, I get it that both Eddie and Rome have other things going on.  Given how we meet Rome and his depression, I'm willing to give him a pass, honestly.  As for Eddie, he did at least have his moment of guilt in 01.03, but he's better now I guess?  I would think that there would be opportunities to at least have Regina be reflective about the fact that Jon "gave" her a new restaurant, but that would require actually giving Regina something to do, which Nash refuses to do.  And Delilah?  What is she doing?  Telling Maggie that her affair was Jon's fault and flirting with a random hot guy at the gas station?

Keep in mind we are now two months since Jon's death and I get it that there is no set timetable for grief and everyone moves through the process differently, but really?  Only *one* person seems to have any feelings about Jon's death?

[Gothish520]

On 12/10/2018 at 4:16 PM, HazelEyes4325 said:

Keep in mind we are now two months since Jon's death and I get it that there is no set timetable for grief and everyone moves through the process differently, but really?  Only *one* person seems to have any feelings about Jon's death?

How much screen time should these characters spend grieving though? They've all had their moments, but if every episode had someone going on about Jon it would get tiresome very quickly. They have 40 minutes a week, not much time to tell several stories. I think the characters have expressed their pain in their own ways plenty. 

Edited December 13, 2018 by Gothish520