I mean, The Real World wasn't THAT insignificant. It didn't launch the gay rights movement by any stretch of the imagination but it was was still pretty important. Rachel's BS usually has a grain of truth substantial enough that her marks WANT to believe the rest of it.

I think Madison is going to quickly become Rachel's Eve Harrington aligned with Chet.

Even though Rachel is a bigger, badder Quinn in the making, I'm totally thinking Madison is going to be Rachel's Eve Harrington by the end of the season and probably in cahoots with Chet.

The scandal is pretty blatantly based on Richard Sherman, whose outburst in a post game interview with Erin Andrews once caused a lot of hand wringing about "thugs" in sports even though he's Stanford education and was clearly just still amped up from the game (and didn't actually say anything particularly…

I almost didn't recognize him. I kind of wonder if his weight gain is as intentional as Chet's weight loss. They may have some commentary planned on how men's appearances are *starting* to be a little more linked to their social value. Quinn has always been thin and stylish and could never let herself go like Chet did…

I also appreciated that it basically skipped over the season of Rachel being slowly broken by the reality TV machine. That was an origin story we didn't need and the aftermath is far more interesting, anyway.

Yeah, I think a lot of people are quick to dismiss The Real World as being incredibly important for post-AIDS gay acceptance. It didn't launch gay rights by any stretch of the imagination (my reaction to that line, "Bitch, please") but it had a huge impact on young people in middle America.

Rachel's BS always has a kernel of truth (sometimes incredibly small) that her marks WANT to believe and that's what makes her so dangerous.

Yeah, it seems like a stalemate is the best possible outcome for this season and it seems more likely that the ladies are mostly going to lose this season. Probably because the rules are going to keep changing, not because they're worse at playing the game.

I'm curious if they'll comment on how is "emasculation" made him feel like he needed to care about his appearance again. Quinn has always had to be thin and FIERCE AF in addition to being excellent at her job just because she was a woman. It seems like now that women are encroaching on his territory, fitness (if only…

I think it was implied that he had probably been more of a catch when they first started hooking up and had let himself go.

Rachel is also in at least a mild state of mania. Delusional and grandiose thoughts are a key component of mania.

As is usually the case, I think there was *just* enough of a sliver of truth to Rachel's BS to make it seem plausible. Pedro (actually season three) really did do a lot to spark post-AIDS gay acceptance in middle America. For many, he was their first exposure to a gay person living with AIDS that they could relate to…

I was wondering if maybe she was in law school or something, where it's more expected to graduate with one's cohort and missing a semester could potentially delay graduation by a full academic year (depending on whether the school offered her remaining courses every semester or on a limited schedule/track).

Yeah, I think it was supposed to be as blunt, awkward, and awful as possible as a reminder of how those one-sided clips are produced and manipulated.

Ugh, that sounds even worse, in a way. At least Yunioshi is a relic of a different era/giant flaw in an otherwise classic, watchable movie.

I haven't seen that one but yikes.

It would be interesting if she kept doing this into Cindy Sherman territory…

They can do both! Look at Ken Jeong!

Those jokes are too "niche"