Expats

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

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Anonymous wrote:Interestingly the cases you hear about are much more rarely yt or mixed families.

Drop the yt thing, we’re not on Ticktock and you look like an a$$

DP. What is “yt”?

I googled:
"Coined as a replacement for "white people," the letters sound out "whitey." It might seem an odd and unnecessary abbreviation, but there are a few reasons behind it."

[Anonymous]

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Anonymous wrote:I really enjoyed the woman with the short platinum hair in the elevator. She dealt with Hilary and her mom's weird drama well and I thought it was funny when it turned out she was the first expat on the show who actually spoke Chinese.

Yeah, stuck in an elevator with a mean older women who can't stop chiding and insulting her own adult daughter.
Then plays the victim when the adult daughter discloses the real underlying issue of the mom's toxic game. OOOOOh, we're not allowed to talk about that...
Meanwhile, blond lady drops she's late for something important, needs to see her husband, is used to playing referee - and no one let's her talk.

DP. Interesting that they never explored the very first episode where the blond lady is glaring at David from her apartment door and he says she is always doing that. I wonder what that was about.

I dont remember this, but you reminded me of something else - in the first episode Hilary said something to David about Margaret, something like "What she did to you wasnt nice but...". So what did Margaret do to David? Why does this blonde lady hate david? (I mean, why wouldn't you)?

PP here. I get the impression from what Hilary has said that Margaret smeared David to the police after Gus disappeared, making it seem possible he was suspicious. I wish they would have delved further into that because it’s left a lot of unknowns. Maybe the blonde lady heard what Margaret said about David and so was suspicious of him… but I’m confused about the timeline. The glaring from her apartment door might have been even before Gus was taken.

I also started thinking that the older brother must know something and is trying to express himself. The Jesus picture... what if that is David and not Jesus? David has the same hair as Jesus in that picture.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I usually can't watch shows where young children are hurt, but I'm hoping there's an explanation that isn't completely horrifying. I'm hoping that the nanny stole him so at least he is with someone he loves.

Margaret was negligent. I would never in a million years let someone I just met be responsible for my young child in a setting like that. If they needed to split up, let Daisy handle the older kids.

And yes, Nicole Kidman looks like an alien.

Is that what happened in the book?

No. Spoiler alert if you don't want to know: Mercy gets pregnant by Hilary's husband, and both Hilary and Margaret go to the hospital to visit her when she has the baby. They never find Margaret's child.

Damn this spoiler alert!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I really enjoyed the woman with the short platinum hair in the elevator. She dealt with Hilary and her mom's weird drama well and I thought it was funny when it turned out she was the first expat on the show who actually spoke Chinese.

Yeah, stuck in an elevator with a mean older women who can't stop chiding and insulting her own adult daughter.
Then plays the victim when the adult daughter discloses the real underlying issue of the mom's toxic game. OOOOOh, we're not allowed to talk about that...
Meanwhile, blond lady drops she's late for something important, needs to see her husband, is used to playing referee - and no one let's her talk.

DP. Interesting that they never explored the very first episode where the blond lady is glaring at David from her apartment door and he says she is always doing that. I wonder what that was about.

I dont remember this, but you reminded me of something else - in the first episode Hilary said something to David about Margaret, something like "What she did to you wasnt nice but...". So what did Margaret do to David? Why does this blonde lady hate david? (I mean, why wouldn't you)?

PP here. I get the impression from what Hilary has said that Margaret smeared David to the police after Gus disappeared, making it seem possible he was suspicious. I wish they would have delved further into that because it’s left a lot of unknowns. Maybe the blonde lady heard what Margaret said about David and so was suspicious of him… but I’m confused about the timeline. The glaring from her apartment door might have been even before Gus was taken.

The show still hasn’t handled the flashback on how the David /mercy affair began.

We know he was at the bar then out and comforting this babysitter who lost the kid in Mongkok, but then what?

Next we know they’re banging every night at the hotel months later and the months before that he was submitted as a potential suspect because he was on the scene (drinking, or more??).

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I usually can't watch shows where young children are hurt, but I'm hoping there's an explanation that isn't completely horrifying. I'm hoping that the nanny stole him so at least he is with someone he loves.

Margaret was negligent. I would never in a million years let someone I just met be responsible for my young child in a setting like that. If they needed to split up, let Daisy handle the older kids.

And yes, Nicole Kidman looks like an alien.

Is that what happened in the book?

No. Spoiler alert if you don't want to know: Mercy gets pregnant by Hilary's husband, and both Hilary and Margaret go to the hospital to visit her when she has the baby. They never find Margaret's child.

Damn this spoiler alert!

That's a really dumb, boring ending.

[Anonymous]

What a dark and dumb premise for a series…with unlikeable characters across the board.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:What a dark and dumb premise for a series…with unlikeable characters across the board.

I think it started off well, but would have been better in a lighter Big Little Lies style or going full thriller.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:What a dark and dumb premise for a series…with unlikeable characters across the board.

I think it started off well, but would have been better in a lighter Big Little Lies style or going full thriller.

Agree 100%
So many people are attracted by the setting and the expat life, but the characters are so so unlikeable (I'm actually okay with that; I love to be a hater) but it is so very dark.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:What a dark and dumb premise for a series…with unlikeable characters across the board.

tons of dark, deep flashback series out the last 12 mos: Beef, Bear, Expats.

takes time to digest each one. i mean you could binge watch it but you wouldn't necessarily appreciate the themes, set, music, and character development as much.

[Anonymous]

white lotus

flawed people affecting flawed people.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:In the book she is actually 1/4 Korean.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:
Also in the book she is kind of overtly racist. She is freaked out by the culture and the food and the noise and the crowds. And her husband seemed whiter when they lived in the states. There is this whole sense that she is surrounded by this culture that she doesn’t understand and possibly dislikes.

That makes sense. I picked up on all of these in the show (her distaste for Asian culture), being out of sync with husband who has probably embraced his Asian heritage more so recently, etc).

I thought the scene with the nanny tossing the food was weird (and likely written by a white person) - what self respecting Asian would toss perfectly good ingredients like that?

Isn't that the point? The housekeeper knows how "they" do it

[Anonymous]

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Anonymous wrote:I'm watching the first episode. It sounds like Nicole Kidman but I'm assuming she's had a lot of plastic surgery.

I was surprised. she's in her late 50s and playing someone who is likely much younger, at least 10 years judging by the age of her kids. I kind of appreciate that for once the woman isn't married to someone who is 20 years older than her in real life.

My question-what parts to I skip if I find child death/disappearance hard?

last part of second episode. They go to the market.

All of ep3 was about the kid. So if you can't handle the child death/disappearance you should probably skip the entire show.

Ooh thanks. I'm going to skip this episode.
Can you come back after 4 and make sure I'm not lost because of skipping that? I know there are a few of us that can't handle this so we all thank you. I'm very interested in the filipinas' lives so would like to stay with. Appreciate you.

I mean, this is a central storyline. This may not be the show for you. I don’t (up to ep 2) find it that upsetting, maybe because they aren’t actively looking for the kid or just haven’t made the show that intense. I couldn’t ever watch Gone Baby Gone for the same reason.

its actually not THAT upsetting in the way they do it (I am one of the people who asked what to skip) - not any more distubing than the rest of the episodes currently available

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

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Anonymous wrote:Anyone watch the latest episode? Excruciating. The actor who plays her husband is incredible.

He is fantastic. Nicole Kidman is always great. I do not care about Hilary and her horrid mom or her dh and Mercy.

PP here. Agree. Hilary's mom is a piece of work. I don't know how she didn't tell her to just go back to India when they got out of the elevator. As for David and Mercy - ugh. What a toxic relationship. And her disgusting little apartment makes me feel sick everytie they show it.

Are you being literal? Because I can't stop thinking how huge and nice it must be by Hong Kong standards or really most standards for 2 people inc rich people

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Great episode. Each story line took place in a confined, airless, claustrophobic space (locked room, elevator, tiny apartment) which gradually heightened the tension until the end when windows were opened and wind and rain were let in. It felt like a relief.

Nicole Kidman's character seemed at the beginning to have some redeeming qualities. She had at least learned a few phrases to do her errands and chided one of her friends over the way the talked about the "helpers." But it's obvious now that she's entitled and horrible. Essie must be grieving as much as she is, given that she's the one who was mothering that little boy.

She criticized another woman for how she spoke to their helper, but then said Essie was "family." It was sanctimonious and false-- these women are being paid to wait in them. And it was obvious Margaret resented how much Gus loved Essie, which is why she was auditioning Mercy as a sitter and took the kids out without Essie.

Margaret was always ruled by her emotions and lacked sensible boundaries with Essie and Mercy, even before Gus was taken. Her distress since he went missing us totally understandable, but some of the underlying problems with her behavior were there before it happened.

Yeah, I don't think this is meant to make Margaret look good - more like naive at best.
IT's usually a sign when people refer to paid people "as family" -- not a good one

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Anyone watch the latest episode? Excruciating. The actor who plays her husband is incredible.

He is fantastic. Nicole Kidman is always great. I do not care about Hilary and her horrid mom or her dh and Mercy.

PP here. Agree. Hilary's mom is a piece of work. I don't know how she didn't tell her to just go back to India when they got out of the elevator. As for David and Mercy - ugh. What a toxic relationship. And her disgusting little apartment makes me feel sick everytie they show it.

Are you being literal? Because I can't stop thinking how huge and nice it must be by Hong Kong standards or really most standards for 2 people inc rich people

DP but her apartment is really disgusting. Not everyone in HK has tiles falling off the walls or such a dirty bathroom.