S01.E07: The Sound of Music

[formerlyfreedom]

Maya feels guilty that her work is forcing her to interact with Ainsley's ex; Andrew and Tony 2 realize that they have an unexpected connection; Bryce tries to take his professional relationship with Ainsley to the next level.

Dropping Wednesday, August 21, 2019.

[krankydoodle]

I'm finding the secondary characters like Gemma and Andrew much more compelling than the leads.

And Nicholas Sparks, Tabby? Yuck. She has terrible taste in guys.

[TVForever]

And Basheer! Don't forget Basheer!

[shipmate]

 I find myself I find myself looking forward to new episodes every Wednesday. I loved when Gemma told Duffy to basically get his head out of his ass (he needed that!).

I agree that the secondary characters are even more interesting than the leads. I don't know how they will get Kash and Maya together without Ainsley getting ticked off, but I guess we'll see!

[ElectricBoogaloo]

Duffy can suck it. He's drinking excessively, quizzing his Latin students on Brad Pitt movies, and generally being an ass to everyone within a 100 foot radius because Maya had the audacity not to fall in love with him.

If there was any question before of his status, he is 100% one of those Nice Guys. Boo fucking hoo, Duffy. Maya isn't obligated to love you or stay in a relationship with you just because you've been in love with her for the past decade.  And that is no reason to completely neglect educating your students or to blame everyone else in your life for your unhappiness.

He had the fucking GALL to yell at Gemma and call her a narc. That's like blaming the police for catching you speeding. Obviously he doesn't understand that in Gemma's list of priorities, her son's education will always be above his own wallowing self pity.

I know, I know, this was all for the sake of Duffy's redemption arc but he still sucks. The highlight of this entire storyline was Gemma telling him off. I was also glad when she told him that comparing his break up with Maya was nowhere even near her husband dying. Get some fucking perspective, Duffy!

I want Ainsley to be happy, but Dermot Mulroney is so boring and unappealing in this role.

Hahaha, loved Kash chaperoning Fatima and Bash's date. I like Bash, but PUT DOWN THE PHONE and finish patching the lights!

[ElectricBoogaloo]

I'm not crazy about the budding Tony 2/Andrew relationship. I know this is a rom com so everyone will end up paired off, but it's annoying to see how selfish Andrew has been for the past 30 years and now he's going to get a happily ever after because one hot guy told him off (despite the fact that Maya has been urging him to open his eyes to the plight of anyone who is not a rich upper class man since she arrived). I mean, this is a guy who genuinely thinks that he's a kind, generous, open minded guy because he donates to a women's flower club and a kids' library.

[peggy06]

2 hours ago, ElectricBoogaloo said:

I'm not crazy about the budding Tony 2/Andrew relationship. I know this is a rom com so everyone will end up paired off, but it's annoying to see how selfish Andrew has been for the past 30 years and now he's going to get a happily ever after because one hot guy told him off (despite the fact that Maya has been urging him to open his eyes to the plight of anyone who is not a rich upper class man since she arrived). I mean, this is a guy who genuinely thinks that he's a kind, generous, open minded guy because he donates to a women's flower club and a kids' library.

I agree that Andrew/Tony is seeming a little abrupt, but I enjoy both actors, so I'll let it slide. 

I can't take much more of Duffy. He had one good moment, when he gave Maya an out on the relationship. But he's reneged on that ever since. And why? Because he found the letter and misunderstood it.  That's not Maya's fault!  Then, his sulking behavior to everyone else is so ridiculous. He's lucky to have kept his job. Who tells their boss that they can't perform their duties because of a failed relationship anyway? 

The Nicholas Sparks gag was a bit too forced.

[TVForever]

1 minute ago, peggy06 said:

The Nicholas Sparks gag was a bit too forced.

I know, but it made me smile anyway!😊

[ElectricBoogaloo]

It made me laugh out of spite because I knew it would make Duffy jealous that Tabby was dating a successful novelist.

[smices]

Someone like Duffy probably looks down his nose at Nicolas Sparks.

Andrew doesn’t deserve Tony 2.

i don’t know how they’re going to fix things with Maya/Kash/Ainsley I’m the remaining episodes.

[DearEvette]

Yeah, Andrew does not deserve Tony2.  But I can't help myself, as a couple they intrigue.  I like that little revelation there!

Nathalie Emmanuel is truly a beautiful woman -- ok shallow moment over!

This episode had some really great, funny lines.  I loved the one where the job recruiter woman reassured Maya that most of the people calling them were calling from their office  bathroom in secret.  LOL.  Also Gemma outraged that Duffy was slacking on teaching the kids Latin "how on earth will they survive without a good grasp of Latin?" 

As someone who reads a lot of romance novels, I can tell you, the  critical story element is the conflict that keeps your main couple apart until you are ready to put them together to give them their HEA (Happily ever after).  In many cases there is no reason for a young, single pair who are attracted to each other to not get together.  It stretches believability and causes your narrative to lose plot credibility.  So I have to give this show major props for the reason they created to keep Maya and Kash apart.  It is a really smart romantic conflict.

Duffy was getting o my last nerve but I am glad he got his head out of his ass in the end.  And I LOVE that Gemma narc'd on him.  A really good narrative decision that many shows would not have made.

I agree they are doing a great job on many of the secondary characters:  Bash, Gemma, and now Tony2 &  Andrew and heck, even Marcus is getting some good layers.

[Kiddvideo]

I’m no fan of Duffy’s woe-is-me Eeyore existence (such a cliche) but I think he’s been treated badly.

Duffy/Maya: She led him to believe she was available and open to giving their relationship a try. He thought she was worried about transitioning their friendship into a romance not that she was in love with someone else. Their relationship was built on fraud.

Duffy/Gemma: Someone needed to tell him to get his shit together, but she approached him as a friend and he reacted as a friend. She should’ve had the come to Jesus talk then. Pretty pretty princess didn’t appreciate being treated as an equal, and she took the nuclear option. I had almost started to like her when her husband died.

I can’t decide if I like Ainsley. It’s like she’s trying to grow-up but she’s still an infant and just made the transition from rolling to crawling.

I’m rooting for Bash and Fatima! I noticed they linked arms in this episode when she and Kash hadn’t even held hands.

[smices]

I have trouble feeling sympathy for Duffy for 2 reasons: 

1. He ditched Tabby the second he though he could upgrade to Maya so boohoo that the same thing was done to him. Congratulations, he played himself. 

2. He compared his 5 minute relationship with Maya to Gemma’s with her DEAD HUSBAND! I’d have done a lot more than report his poor conduct to the headmaster if he tried that with me. The gall!

[Kiddvideo]

6 hours ago, smices said:

I have trouble feeling sympathy for Duffy for 2 reasons: 

1. He ditched Tabby the second he though he could upgrade to Maya so boohoo that the same thing was done to him. Congratulations, he played himself. 

2. He compared his 5 minute relationship with Maya to Gemma’s with her DEAD HUSBAND! I’d have done a lot more than report his poor conduct to the headmaster if he tried that with me. The gall!

Agreed he treated Tabby poorly. She would’ve been good for him, but she wasn’t a long-term friend, wasn’t someone he’d trusted or confided in, and they dated for even less than 5 minutes. She seems hung up on Duffy, and dating N. Sparks is her way to “show him.” Which makes N. Sparks the latest sad sack in his next novel, because I don’t think Tabby has moved on, either.

Gemma reported him before he compared the relationships. She steps out of her insulated world for a moment and runs back because she can’t stand on her own. The lunch-packing scene was over the top, but I guess it was meant to show how out of touch she is even if she is improving. Can’t defend the Pig Latin, lol.

[DearEvette]

11 hours ago, Kiddvideo said:

Duffy/Maya: She led him to believe she was available and open to giving their relationship a try. He thought she was worried about transitioning their friendship into a romance not that she was in love with someone else. Their relationship was built on fraud.

I don't think the relationship was built on fraud.  Maya liked someone who wasn't available to her.  She decided to move on and have a relationship with someone who was available.  When their first night was over, Duffy was bracing himself for her to brush him off, but she decided to try to give it a go.  I got the impression from that scene that she was open and committed to giving it a real try, not just leading him to believing it but really believing it herself as well.  And remember, she was just coming off a long term relationship with another unavailable man whose wife gave her some good advice about men and their availability.

If anything I give her props to getting out of it promptly when she realized she was the unavailable one in this scenario instead of stringing him along.

[biakbiak]

On 8/22/2019 at 9:17 PM, smices said:

He ditched Tabby the second he though he could upgrade to Maya so boohoo that the same thing was done to him. Congratulations, he played himself. 

To be fair he dumped her before he knew he had a chance with Maya, he just wanted to actually take that chance. Not defending his actions since but breaking up with her because he realized he was forcing feelings for her.

[jhlipton]

On 8/23/2019 at 5:00 AM, Kiddvideo said:

Agreed he treated Tabby poorly. She would’ve been good for him, but she wasn’t a long-term friend, wasn’t someone he’d trusted or confided in, and they dated for even less than 5 minutes.

The thing is that in the "5 minutes" they dated, she did more to make him a better man than Maya has since he's known her.

Edited August 31, 2019 by jhlipton
I didn't realize there were more episodes to come.

[Clanstarling]

On 8/23/2019 at 5:00 AM, Kiddvideo said:

Gemma reported him before he compared the relationships. She steps out of her insulated world for a moment and runs back because she can’t stand on her own. The lunch-packing scene was over the top, but I guess it was meant to show how out of touch she is even if she is improving. Can’t defend the Pig Latin, lol.

If I had a friend who was dragging his drama into my child's classroom, and who refused to even listen, I think I might just report him - as much as for my child's education and my friend's need for a wake-up call to get it together. My kids come before any friendship, no matter how close.

Duffy was insufferable - and if it had just been in private, then his wallowing wouldn't have hurt anybody but himself.

And yeah, taking it all too seriously. LOL