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Joe finds himself with formidable competition which may force him to do something drastic to save his relationship with Beck.
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| Network | ||
| Lifetime | ||
| Director(s) | Marta Cunningham | |
| Writer(s) | Neil Reynolds | |
| Air Date | 10/7/2018 | |
| Characters Introduced | ||
| Annika | Kathryn Gallagher | |
| Roger Stevens | Reggie Gowland | |
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Reconnaissance on Peach: Annika, Peach, Joe, Beck, Roger
Joe knows that his position with Beck may have improved, but to make it truly stable, he needs her friends on board. Annika he wins fairly easily thanks to him being kind to her and her having a bit of a cold war with Peach. The other one, who has yet to say or do anything interesting, they’re cool. As for Peach? She hates this man’s guts. I’m talking saying shady things on the side in terms of being limp, his finances, anything which can be said in passing and not be an outright insult.
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Yet, Joe would like to win Peach over or at least have a truce. So, taking note of a laptop she always has, he wants to get that laptop. Which he uses Annika for since he is starting to develop a real friendship with her. However, he kind of ruins that by using her to get to Peach. He has Annika post a picture of Peach with her old nose and so Peach retaliates by making Annika seem racist. Thus killing her ability to live off being an “Influencer.”
However, by Annika noting Peach’s obsession with Beck, he is able to get enough information to figure out her password. Before he gets to access her computer though, Peach coerces Joe to host a private party at the bookshop so Beck can meet Roger, a literary agent. Someone who Peach thought would give her an upper hand but his actions backfire.
The Paco Situation: Paco, Joe, Ron
At this point, Paco is sick of Ron yelling, insulting, maybe even beating his mom Claudia. So, he is looking into what legally can be done and Joe catches onto this. However, Joe doesn’t really support it since it seems he tried to play that game. It isn’t clear what exactly happened but Joe definitely got involved in his mother’s relationship and it ended with him going into the foster system. Something he doesn’t want for Paco though, all things considered, Joe is likely 10 years older than Paco so he could be his guardian.
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But, considering how Joe is very careful about getting too involved, since Ron has it out for him, he doesn’t offer that as a backup. Instead, he presents “The Count of Monte Cristo
Commentary
We haven’t seen young Joe since episode 2 and who knows if he may appear again. So it may very well be that Paco will be our insight into Joe’s childhood. For we already know Mr. Mooney was abusive to Joe, physically and mentally, so who is to say he wasn’t the same way to his mom?
Joe’s past aside, it seems Ron will definitely be part of Joe’s future. Especially considering what Joe did to Peach once he discovered the truth. Making it so, with Ron’s background as an investigator, you know he is going to add his two-cents when Joe’s name comes up. Maybe leading Joe to justifying handling Ron the way he sees fit.
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This Isn’t a Polyamourous Relationship: Joe, Peach, Beck, Ron, Roger, Paco
Picking up where we left off, Peach coerces Joe to have a private party and while she has Roger schmoozing with Beck, Joe steals her laptop. With doing that, and having the password, he realizes Peach is worse than him. Lest we forget, Joe is maybe middle class and has an unhealthy fixation on Beck. Peach is rich and it seems she has the resources to not only control Beck but also control her career and personal life. All for the one she loves.
Because this obsession has to be love. The kind which, by Joe’s assumption, can’t be pursued because Peach comes from a traditional family. One which perhaps would disown their daughter, even in the year 2018, for being queer. But believe me when I say Peach’s issues go beyond that. Beck tells us Peach has attempted suicide multiple times, she keeps a food journal and then she really shows how far she’ll go to keep Beck in her life.
Long story short, Roger tries to Harvey Weinstein, if not Bill Cosby, Beck and reveals what Peach really thinks of her work. Something Joe said but Beck didn’t even defend Joe when Peach thought he stole her laptop. Which he did, but he hid it in her house so that the GPS wouldn’t lead her to him. Plus, her security, for someone who has had stalkers, is trash. But, point is, Beck learns the truth about how Peach feels about her and seemingly tries to end the friendship.
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Following that, Peach feigns a suicide which sends Beck rushing to her aid and Joe realizing that the only way to deal with Peach is to kill her. Which he thinks he did, with a rock, and repeated hits, in the middle of a park. However, with Peach waking up in an ER, Joe better hope she has memory loss and his fingerprints don’t show up on a rock.
Luckily though, at least for Ron, from Peach feigning a suicide from pills, Joe learns how to handle someone who is OD’ing. For Paco seemingly tried to kill Ron and make it look like he took too many sleeping pills. But, for his efforts in reviving Ron, Joe gets beat the hell out of.
Commentary
Joe can’t beat Peach. Plain and simple. She knows all of Beck’s buttons and I don’t think Beck has it in her to let Peach attempt a suicide and not come running. She can’t deal with a death hanging over her head. It would be good for her writing, but not her conscience. Plus, based off how Beck refused to defend Joe against Peach’s accusations, she is a punk. To be honest, Peach probably didn’t have to go as far as take pills to get Beck back. It was just likely quicker than the alternatives. For with Joe making so much progress, Peach can’t wait for Beck to need money, connections, or get lonely. Joe ruins what might have been their old routine.
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With that said, I think Joe used up his first and last opportunity to really get to Peach. Now, unless she is stupid, she’ll get real security for her home and probably have cops watching her. If not a full-on security detail. Which, considering talk of having a stalker before, and how rich her family is, why does she not live in a place with a doorman is beyond me? Much less, again, have the kind of security which an average Joe, like Joe, can’t hack? Him being able to go in and out of the home of an heiress shouldn’t be possible.
But, can I say I’m glad Peach isn’t dead? I enjoy Mitchell’s handling of Peach so much. Especially the read of his life. Taking note of his poor sex with Beck the first time around, taking note how easily Roger could probably take Beck from him and in that, him being poor in comparison to her, things like that. However, one thing which must be questioned is why, considering Peach’s feelings, she keeps trying to hook up Beck with people? Especially ones who could compete with Peach?
My thought is, Peach is trying to figure a way where Beck is always some kind of dependent on her. If she marries rich, she’ll be dependent on Peach to show her the ropes and be the only one she can trust in high society. Especially as her husband is away working. However, if she is with someone like Joe, she’ll have to work and she’ll be with someone who’ll take up whatever spare time she has. Thus leading to him either intruding or stopping Peach’s quality time with Beck.
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Though, to put it another way, maybe Peach wants Beck to make the first move to take that pressure off of her? If Beck goes from one trash guy to another, maybe she may get curious and come to Peach? It really hard to say what is going on in Peach’s head but with her being whacked, Joe definitely has to be on high alert.
Oh, and can we talk about Ron real quick? Why the hell did he beat Joe like he did? Could it be he thought Joe had a hand in him being poisoned? Maybe because he can’t beat Paco, as he’d like, he took that frustration out on Joe? It isn’t like Joe could go to the cops for that means Paco being put out there. So it seems Ron may have gotten the upper hand in their tiff now.
Question(s) Left Unanswered
- How much of Paco’s story directly correlates to Joe’s?
- Will Beck continuing to say her dad is dead bit her in the behind?
- Was Peach trying to get Beck assaulted to maybe push her to think about experimenting?
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Highlights
- We’re halfway through the season and the drama is still good. Perhaps getting better since Peach seems as loopy as Joe but has money to go further than he can.
- Peach’s verbal tongue lashings at Joe were hilarious.
- Paco’s storyline, relating to Joe or not, is getting me in my feelings a little bit.
Low Points
- Considering past stalkers had, and the way her mouth is, you’d think Peach would be a bit more paranoid about her safety.
On The Fence
- I think I’m more interested in Joe and Peach’s pursuit of Beck than Beck herself at this point. She really does not seem that interesting for these two to be so obsessed with her.
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