u/GoalGuilty780

The body language and tone with which Danny told Nia to take off her mic and that dark stare he gave her. Wow. How she felt comfortable going inside to a room ALONE with him unmiced has my alarm bells going off. This is a woman who has probably felt unsafe with him before and now is just tired and used to it.

I really am worried that once Nia reaches a breaking point she will feel out of options and defeated. Lala was right Kristen needs to step up- Nia will NEVER LISTEN TO LALA OR JANET that’s why this needs to come from Kristen and Zack. It’s harder to refute hard truths when they come from people who you know care about you. He is borderline abusive with the emotional way he tried to dominate her out of her own feelings, and definitely verbally abusive.

Janet wrong time to apologize and make it about yourself but I also think Nia had to double down and refuse her olive branch because she couldn’t make Danny upset once more. She is definitely a little male centered and again this man is dangerous idc what yall say. He is openly touching and getting in women’s personal space drunk he’s performative for everyone else and hates his wife for doing the same.

If none of the men speak up for it the rest of the season or aftershow then I truly hope this show gets canned and they can stop protecting their image and let their relationship fall to pieces away from the limelight.

And as anyone who’s dearly loved their sister or treated their best friend like one I completely understand. You live in a share house with other people who will constantly see your relationship, but beside that I really do feel that Ciara would step in regardless of if the show were filming or not. Yes it’s involved, but in her eyes and with the information she was told and the verbal abuse she witnessed/heard of I actually think it’s completely fine. What did she say other than have you thought about a separation?

Which is a completely valid question in a close friendship where you are worried about the situation of a dear friend who you have seen been screamed at. People saying she overstepped can scream about boundaries all they want but at the end of the day she didn’t villainize Kyle she simply spoke out of care and concern for a friend she saw hurt and broken (in her eyes) for years and tried to motivate. This whole discourse around her getting too involved actually reminds of why men villainize gossiping when it has actually and factually helped more women see men for who they really are. Sometimes something that seems “inappropriate socially” is actually the right thing to do.

The aftershow is definitely not needed this season. The only purpose where it could have been impactful is watching the producers ask the men and women why they stayed silent on Danny’s yelling at Nia last episode. Instead we have questions like “would Jesse want to be pegged”. Even last week’s aftershow episode with them picking which animal each cast mate is, like what? Why even shoot it anymore? Why not take controversial viewer questions and put those in the after show and save us a boring reunion?

In a season full of nothing but post partum and verbal abuse it is so off putting that the whole season is a flop so far and then followed by a casual nothing burger aftershow. If the whole point is to see how the cast feel about topics shown on TV after time has passed, then the aftershow is clearly an epic fail. I think the valley is worth one more episode of my time but after that I’m out; especially after seeing Nia’s gaslighty IG comments supporting Danny’s behaviour. Clearly even with time there’s no acceptance of what’s abusive whether verbally or otherwise and continuing to ignore it from a producer level is just not the type of drama we should enjoy.

This isn’t a comparison of who’s in the better relationship but Kristen wearing her heart on her sleeve and being verbal and acknowledging the issues her and Luke deal with post pregnancy is so refreshing when you see Nia try and fail to keep her and Danny’s issues in the dark on camera . Kristen isn’t afraid for Luke to face the wraith of the public /fanbase for his awful takes because there’s lessons to be learned. Both relationships suck ass but Kristen doesn’t try to portray an air of everything is fine just becomes she wants to protect Luke’s image. Nia tries to stop anything from bubbling to the surface between her and Danny when it comes to his obvious disregard for her. Due to Danny’s abhorrent behaviour to women last season becoming public she wants to mitigate fallout/backlash for her partner. But in doing so she’s taking his lash outs way too calmly to present as if it’s fine or temporary. That IS performative because we have seen her stand up for herself so many times last season. She’s trying to clean up a mess that’s going to keep leaking.

Even with ZACK and Janet becoming cordial Kristen calls BS out in the open in the train with Zack head on, all while Nia comes to bicker with Kristen about being confused by Zack. The fact both of them can’t understand he’s being polite and can’t move on from it seems immature. If yall can forgive Danny’s creeping behaviour because he therapized himself and apologized y’all can let Zack accept a cordial apology from Janet where she also owned her wrongs even if performative.

I understand both women are different in nature and just have a few commonalities but I think the biggest take away from this latest episode seems to be that whether you cover your partner’s tracks or let them tell on themselves please have the freedom to speak your mind instead of keeping it in. To be honest Jason and JANET have a better relationship as husband/wife than either of those two couples and I say that as a Janet despiser.

With Michelle Brittany and even to a certain level Jesse feeling more free and light hearted it’s hard to watch Nia stay focused on holding everything inside.

What hobbies other than reading give you enjoy?

Amanda knows that West will not be exclusive to her and isn’t willing to go through the emotional turmoil she went through with Kyle to make him so. Making them into a committed monogamous relationship is what NEITHER of them wants right now. To be clear the moral fiber of them is worn thin but I feel like Amanda herself doesn’t see West as “the one” and understands he is fully single even when they’re together.

She wants to have all the fun and ease that comes from separating after a tumultuous relationship but also craves male affection and attention.

When WeSTD defended her against Kyle this season he became the white knight she sought comfort in because it meant she was worthy of 1) being protected by a man 2) “seen” by someone other than just a woman. She brought up how good a friend he was last episode because it made her feel special.

Amanda can’t operate with the logic that it was actually Ciara who was her real knight in shining armour for her through these tough times because she’s too male centered to have it be anyone other than a man who’s arms she can run into. Amanda also knows she can’t rationalize her actions and so separates the closeness of friendship she had with Ciara in comparison to childhood friendKatie (audio leak 3) as if that mattered.

Mandy can’t admit that Ciara was the real hero of her story and fell on so many swords for her while West did the bare minimum because Amanda can’t fathom being the bad guy and only operates as a damsel in distress framework. The internalized misogyny from Mandy refuses to “SEE” Ciara as anything other than a “lady in waiting” and paints West as the one who actually took a stand for her.

She’s willing to dispose of Ciara’s friendship for a phase in her life she knows is casual to the very core. All for a few moments of “feeling special” because a man sought to be in her corner. This leads to the diabolical IG posting through out the last few months.

Amanda’s chasing a feeling of “I got picked” but it’s become too fleeting too fast and the reality of who West is and how silent he was during the reunion is showing that he really wasn’t the hero she eternalized him to be.

Her attachment to West despite his actions towards Ciara showed that she’s completely fine with her girlfriends being casualties as long as she gets to retain male friendships and validation in some form.

We all know a lot of women who are like this; burning their best female supporters who advocate for them all to run back to the same mid man or any other man who shows the slightest hint of affection. Their actions become cyclical and hurt the stronger women in their lives.

Heroic loyalty from women mixed in with the racial dynamics Ciara discussed fall on deaf ears to people like Mandy.

Women who blow up the image of a man inside their head and cookie cutter it onto someone undeserving. Those women do more harm to other women in the long run and will never break out of the “helpless little me” mentality until every and any apathetic male finally leaves them.

TLDR: Ciara was the knight in shining armour Mandy wished West could be one day because she only ever wants to be saved if it’s by a man