S03.E07: Solana & Elijah

[jonesingjay]

It's Prok. Not Plok. 

[ShaNaeNae]

 

It was Antwane from the episode where he made a connection with a "guy" named "Tony" via a single's-chat room. Antwane didn't have a computer, internet access and only had an "Obamaphone" that allowed him to do very basic things like call and text. This was the storyline that could have happened in 1990, they said.

 

Yes! That was it. Thank you, it was driving me crazy. And that was the craziest old school catfish I've ever seen. Chat room, party hotline style.

 

There is poor, like no food and shelter, then there's Elijah Plok poor, where you live in the basement of mom and dad's nice comfortable house in the burbs and don't do much expect make videos (until your laptop broke), text on your ipod (cuz your phone broke) and venture to the skateboard park for an outing with fellow dudes.

 

 

You are right. He's not "poor" like his spirit is broken because his life has changed so much or broken because he was laid off due to the economy. He doesn't have anyone depending on him to keep a roof and electricity. He's not worried the next knock at the door might be the power company to shut off your electricity.

 

Kind of reminds me of one time I was watching one of those jail shows where you watch them after their arrest get booked and processed. A young girl (about 18-19, maybe?) was telling the camera she was arrested for stealing from a store. She says, "you know because the president makes everything higher cost these days, we have to steal!" Oh, hon, you have so much to learn.

[ratgirlagogo]

Well that was a first.  This is the first episode ever where it really WAS the hipster/emo/punk looking dude.

 

For a while I thought that Elijah Plok was some kind of internet joke that I know nothing about. Like, hey man, let's Elijah Plok that girl.

That's what I thought - or one of those things where everyone in some kind of art/music scene all use the same name, like "Karen Eliot" back in the 80's.

 

Getting a huge back piece on the spur of the moment is pretty much the same kind of headlong impulsive decisionmaking involved in suddenly marrying your boyfriend you've only known for a few  months.

Edited June 20, 2014 by ratgirlagogo

[ghoulina]

I may be crazy, but I still don't think Elijah is Elijah. Something is fishy. I agree with others who thought the dude she met looked much older than 20. And, to me, he just did NOT look like the Elijah in the pics or video. I can't say definitively why. But when he came up the stairs, I kept saying - "that's not the same dude". And I kept thinking it the entire episode. The hair totally looked like a wig to me, and not like the hair on the kid in the pictures either. It seemed a lot less natural. I don't know. Maybe I'm too skeptical. Maybe for once no one got "catfished", but I smelt a big pile of BS with this one. 

 

Why would he text back, "what if I'm not what you imagined" if he really was everything she imagined? I don't know....

[gunderda]

i think it was his facial hair. They kept mentioning that. And I also think that's why his hair looked so weird. Obviously he doesnt have dark hair.  Not that I would have believed he had black, but he doesn't even seem to have dark brown hair. so the scruffy beard with black straight hair just looked weird. And his photos were from a few years ago weren't they? Back when he had a camera/laptop.  There was a shot of someone who looked like him in the facebook profiles that did look older and similar to the Elijah we saw.

[bref]

He said something almost immediately upon seeing Solana about his height in relation to hers. I think he was worried he was too short. But yeah, my heart was actually beating hard while waiting for SOMETHING TO COME UP THE STAIRS. Good job, show.

[Tara Ariano]

I noticed the week after the "Tracie & Sammie" episode that Tracie's friend Lotti's movie Chastity Bites just HAPPENED to start in rotation on The Movie Channel, which I think is to Showtime as Cinemax is to HBO. So that might be why Lotti (and her movie poster) were on the episode even though Lotti had nothing at all to contribute.

[cynicat]

My very first thought about what was going to come up the stairs was that the catfish was Joshua, and he was going to bring up his dog "Elijah".  When that didn't happen, I did what you all did-- rewound to see if Joshua and Elijah were the same.  Nope.  So basically Elijah is a tiny man-child who lives in his parent's basement, skateboards and, and, well, that's about it.  He is the epitome of the aging stoner. 

 

The fact that Solana immediately married her bf didn't surprise me all that much.  I got the feeling that she was holding onto this romanticized version of Elijah and questioning her feelings for Danny (was that his name?).  As soon as she realized that Elijah didn't live up to the fantasy, it made her understand what a really good man and solid relationship she had right in her hands.  It's like she suddenly grew up.  Danny must love the tat because it represents what finally opened her eyes to him.  Her hubby sounds pretty amazing.

 

Joshua is like the older brother Chuck from Happy Days.

Edited June 21, 2014 by cynicat

[jonesingjay]

First it was Tracy (from Rent), then it was T-Lights, then Kidd Cole, now Christina Grimmie? Is it me or does it seem like the agents of these D-list musicians are using Catfish as a medium to get their artists' names out there? Too many wannabe celebrities this season. It makes me wonder if its all a collaboration with Catfish producers and these musical artists' agents.

The Voice Tour featuring C. Grimmie begins this weekend. Was this a way to get more people to look her up?

 

That's why this season has been a flop for me, but fun to snark on. Everyone is all so much more aware, especially these people in the industry who reach out to the show with the sole purpose of getting themselves telly time. Season one can't be repeated. I'm not sure how much longer this show can keep going. Certainly MTV can keep renewing it to it's hearts content, but it already feels stale to me. 

[LoneHaranguer]

 

I wish them nothing but luck and happiness, but I can't help shaking the feeling that Solana really rushed into things way too fast. She's only eighteen, has just met the guy she was talking to for the last six years, and was clearly conflicted about whether or not to pursue something with Elijah.

Actually Solana was only 18 (not far from 19) when she wrote to the show; she was 20 when the episode was filmed. She started talking to Elijah when she was 14, and said she hadn't spoken to him on the phone for 6 years; when you add in how long it was before he got disconnected by his parents, even if she was rounding up a bit, that's an age of 20. The producers kept her (and Danny) waiting for over a year.

[geekamonggeeks]

Actually Solana was only 18 (not far from 19) when she wrote to the show; she was 20 when the episode was filmed. She started talking to Elijah when she was 14, and said she hadn't spoken to him on the phone for 6 years; when you add in how long it was before he got disconnected by his parents, even if she was rounding up a bit, that's an age of 20. The producers kept her (and Danny) waiting for over a year.

Okay, that makes more sense. I was just struck by how young she was when she got married. Twenty is still pretty young, but I think at twenty, you're a bit more mature than when you were eighteen.

[LoneHaranguer]

 

Danny must love the tat because it represents what finally opened her eyes to him.

It was clear from the picture of Danny with his shirt off that he's into ink, so he could consider the tat a commitment to him. I'd be astounded if she didn't call him to ask his opinion before getting it (and he essentially talked her into it). BTW, I loved that Elijah felt a need to explain to her what a lioness is.

[Drogo]

Turns out Danny is a Marine, so he's far from the first person he knows to run to a courthouse and marry a girl he's only been dating a few months. 

 

Seemed like a good dude, though, he could probably do better than her. 

[mamey2422]

I was surprised she went for it, too. She looked so unsure when Elijah started rambling about getting tattoos together. I think it was at that moment when Solana was realizing that this guy wasn't for her at all. I still don't know why she did it because it didn't seem like they were close friends at all. Looking at them interact in person, you wouldn't know they had been talking for the last five years. That's how awkward they were together.

I think she went for it less because of her friendship with Elijah but perhaps to commemorate that time in her life, the realization of what she had with her boyfriend and perhaps the letting go of what she was holding onto from her past. 

 

Regardless, I agree, they were awkward. 

[RealityGal]

I think she went for it less because of her friendship with Elijah but perhaps to commemorate that time in her life, the realization of what she had with her boyfriend and perhaps the letting go of what she was holding onto from her past. 

 

Regardless, I agree, they were awkward. 

 

I personally think she did it out of guilt.  She had built this guy up for so long, saw him in person and immediately he was not at all what she had built him up to be. She had been enamored with a fantasy.  He was not the fantasy she had of a cool, rocker, hip guy.  Instead, he was a short dude with wacky hair who was really into her, and she wasn't into him at all.  I think she felt guilty, and probably a little shallow, because he was nice, just short and unattractive - so she got the tattoo to make him feel better.

[MrsPatrickBateman]

The only thing I could hear and see while Elijah was on my screen was Kenny G from Can't Hardly Wait. He had all the same mannerisms and speech pattern.

[jonesingjay]

I personally think she did it out of guilt.  She had built this guy up for so long, saw him in person and immediately he was not at all what she had built him up to be. She had been enamored with a fantasy.  He was not the fantasy she had of a cool, rocker, hip guy.  Instead, he was a short dude with wacky hair who was really into her, and she wasn't into him at all.  I think she felt guilty, and probably a little shallow, because he was nice, just short and unattractive - so she got the tattoo to make him feel better.

 

Yeah, I didn't see anything touching about this friendship tattoo business. I thought the same thing, that she did it out of a sense of pressure she must've felt. She'd built up the idea of him and was disappointed with the reality of the situation. Dude, put her on the spot. Not saying he did it intentionally, but he proposed in front of cameras that they get tattoos and she went along with it. I thought she'd back out at the last minute, but she went through with it. The only thing I can say is that, at least it's in a place she doesn't have to look at it. 

[Drogo]

There appears to be a "serious swoop bang" quota for this season of Catfish.  And I know @RealityGal is loving it.

[RealityGal]

There appears to be a "serious swoop bang" quota for this season of Catfish.  And I know @RealityGal is loving it.

 

I'm so transparent.  I must admit a weakness for a serious swoop bang, although sadly, the show has not met its quota for butterscotch Dum Dums, which I would would give @Drogo the same joy a swoop bang gives me :)

[athousandclowns]

When he finally came up the stairs and they were so excited, it's him!!  I thought they were excited because it was Seth Green in a bad wig. I still think it's Seth Green in a wig.