I think it was a bit of a rip on* Little Miss Sunshine*. I wonder if that would really go over OK at a Pioneer Days celebration in Utah. Is that a real celebration, btw?
I still can’t see Barb even moving to the compound, let alone taking any interest in ruling over the other women. I’m sure Nikki would have no problem stepping into Adaleen’s role 
.
Wouldn’t his wife know that since she’s an RN?
I agree that Alby’s made a huge mistake in having Roman arrested. True it was the county sheriff, not the JP police that did it, but Alby had to have helped them. Roman is going to get off somehow and return to the compound. Will Alby’s bisexuality ever become a plot point. If anybody knows why haven’t they threatened him with outing yet? 
No, it wasn’t skeevey when Connie sang it. The voice of whoever was singing in this episode…gah. ::shudder:: And the gyrating. I guess the reasoning of the people in charge of the float/music (…Bill?) was that choosing a Connie Francis song would be nice and wholesome. But the dancing showed that even in their morally upright world, sex can creep in?
The scene where Ben was testing out the float gave me the creeps, too. I feel bad for Ben. Sarah and Heather (Heather, in particular) were being a bit patronizing by trying to lure him into the Mormon church. But I think he needs some kind of guidance. Shipping him off to Barb’s mother isn’t going to work, but I hate to think what’s going to happen to him. I see him ending up a bit like Joey, who’s seemed a bit adrift and out of it for a lot of the show’s run.
Seeing Sarah pulling that “prank” with Roman was hilarious. It was nice seeing her cut loose and act crude for once.
Speaking of the float, wasn’t there a wall in front of where Ben sat to drive it? How the hell was the driver supposed to see?
That was my initial thought as well. The dance moves were a little over the top for girls that age. and I’m surprised that someone in that crowd didn’t speak out.
The crowd consisted mostly of Henrickson HomePlus employees and a smiling Bill Henrickson.
Good point
It wasn’t a group of parents from the compound.
About Alby being gay/bisexual–I’m not sure why it hasn’t been brought up as a bargaining chip/strategy.
Nicki knows. Lois seems to know. It seems unlikely that someone as sharp and manipulative as Adaleen could be unaware (but neither she nor Roman has ever really mentioned it). And if Bill knew, you think he’d have done something with it by now. You think Nicki would mention it to Bill…but then maybe it’s one of those things they’ve always just kept in the family. Or something she feels too weird to even bring up (she doesn’t exactly have progressive views on sex/discussing sex).
Speaking of sex…I feel like we got a little more insight into the Roman/Nicki relationship, when he demanded that she, and not his wife, Adaleen, shave him. And then Bill mentioning that he knows she’s always wanted to please him…they were adding some more stuff to the sexual abuse hints they brought up in “Home Invasion” last season.
Huh, I didn’t get any vibe along those lines at all. Did anyone else?
In that episode, the one where they were there for Nikki’s son’s birthday, Bill walked in on Nikki and Roman "playing’ on one of the beds. It could have been innocent, but it had a sinister feel to it and her position (flat on her belly, almost in his lap) was odd.
Yeah, the Roman/Nicki on the bed–definitely had some sexual overtones. Especially when Bill walked in, and had that weird look on his face. Considering that we know Roman is also into really young girls…the whole thing has a very bad vibe for me. There’s got to be something sinister going on there.
It’s a real state holiday, but they’re a little late with it if the show is supposed to be airing on approximately the dates it takes place.
Pioneer day is July 24th, the anniversary of the day the first group of settlers came into Salt Lake Valley*. That was in 1847, and so you also hear people talk about the ‘Days of ‘47” celebration. It basically Utah’s Founder’s Day.
There are parades in many of the major (and some smaller) cities, fireworks (I guess that’s a hangover from the 4th of July celebration). The parades are usually pioneer themes, with cowboys, horses, people dressed in pseudo 19th century clothes and pulling mock handcarts and riding covered wagons.
Although I haven’t actually watched any of the parades since I was a kid, I think there are commercial floats as well, which is where the “Home Plus” float would come in.
*When Brigham Young and the first wagons came down what is now Emigration Canyon and saw the Salt Lake Valley for the first time, he supposedly stopped the wagons, looked over the valley and said “This is the place”. There is a monument now in the mouth the canyon called (not surprisingly) the “This is The Place” monument with a little park around it.
I guess one thing that argues against that is that Nickie (Nicky? Nikki? Nicki?) is so obviously totally devoted to her father.
It could argue for it. A lot of people who have been molested do end up getting very defensive or devoted to their abusers. Especially considering the world where Nicki lived–Juniper Creek, where being subservient to men is your only survival option.
Neither Nikki or her mother (more so with Nikki) are really that subservient . They are quite good at manipulating things from behind the scenes and Nikki’s quite skilled at manipulating things behind the scenes. This same doctor’s office weighs people in the hallway, fully clothed (including shoes & coats), and doesn’t even ask them to empty their pockets.
True–they’re good at pretending to be subservient, though. Look at the way Nicki acts with Bill–she’s all about how women need to submit to their men, but then she goes off and spends sixty grand, or steals money, or does whatever she feels she neds to do. It seems consistent with someone who’s grown up in a place where it’s accepted that women are inferior to women, but needs to get around that. But she’s definitely got issues with both her parents. Neither of them are all that good at giving her the unconditional love/support a child needs (considering all the children they have…).
I didn’t quite get your reference to the doctor’s office, though.
What the hell? What did he do to manipulate her? I thought it was more or less the other way around. Did I miss a scene or something?
Nor I.
He needed to see other girls because she wouldn’t have sex with him. He maintains “good guy” status by protesting that he doesn’t want her to compromise her virginity for him, thus justifying him screwing other girls. Shortly thereafter, she gives it up. You can’t tell me she didn’t feel immense pressure to have sex with him after he admitted that he was seeing his ex because he “had needs” that Sarah is unwilling to meet-- she thought (rightly, it seems) that she would lose him if she didn’t have sex with him. This is one of the oldest manipulations in the world, a classic gambit. Remember that at first he deceived her into thinking they were exclusive (a lie of omission, no less a lie) and once she found out, he claimed he was doing it to spare her chastity. :rolleyes:
I don’t see how you could allege she was manipulating him. She’s just a kid, with a fucked up family, who wants love from an older man. He’s 28, for chrissakes, having sex with a high school student he knows is vulnerable and needy. He ought to know better. I hope Bill finds out about it and kicks Scott’s ass.
Why the irony quotes around “has needs”? It is perfectly legitimate for a 28 year old man to end a sexless relationship if he wants to have sex.
If the woman in the sexless relationship is of consenting age and decides she’d rather have sex than end the relationship, why is he the bad guy? What would you have him do that wouldn’t merit your rolleyes?