The Other Way; S3, EP 15

Jenny & Sue-mee:

Guess who’s back….Back again.
The tortured love saga continues! It took Sumit over a month to walk up the stairs to his parents’ house to once again attempt to convince them that being with Jenny is a great idea. He greeted his parents by touching their feet (which apparently is a show of respect in India, but could have been really unfortunate if his parents were also on that “My Feet Are Killing Me” show…), as they sat down to discuss the idea of Jenny+Suemet=4Eva.

Sioux meet’s parents did not beat around the bush with their feelings about the relationship. They explained that a man marrying a woman more than twice his age was not accepted in Indian society. Father Smitt even used a wise proverb “The mango tree can not bear lemons” (which, quite honestly doesn’t seem to work in this context, and seemed more applicable to Jenny’s inability to tote, but it did sound wise at the time). He did, however, manage to point out something his son hadn’t thought about; Jenny would be around 75 in 10-15 years when he will be 45, and will need care at the same time as his parents. Although Sumit is probably thinking he could just pull a move from Charlie Bucket in “Willy Wonka” and stick his parents and Jenny in a 4 poster bed with their feet touching in the middle and care for them all at the same time, Papa Sumit may have brought up a very valid point. Nonetheless, Stewmeat seemed to have made up his mind.
Realizing that their tactics weren’t having much effect, the parents move on to the next method: Guilt tripping. Father Smee mentioned they had to pay about 20k for his son’s divorce, which was all of the money he has. Unfortunately this tactic proved to be the least effective of all, as Some-mutt fired back that his arranged marriage was their idea in the first place, and that he went through with it to make them happy. He was full of emotion bringing up this point, yelling and crying at his parents that he was so unhappy, he even contemplated suicide. 
Finally Parents SooMit conceded the point that it looks like Jenny is here to stay, and they are going to have to figure out a way to accept it.

Next we saw Jenny waiting for Suemee at a cafe to discuss the outcome of the meeting and see if Smitt is totally grounded for life, no dessert or t.v.. Sumit explained the meeting details, and that as much as he doesn’t want to give up on Jenny, he refuses to give up on his parents as well (Maybe he just has a foot fetish….). 
Looks like next week he’s meeting up with his brother and  age appropriate girlfriend to announce the couples’ intentions of an engagement. Can’t wait to hear them cry and beg everyone to like their love next week… 

Brittany & Yazan:

Brittany’s mom (who looks like an older version of Brittnay-nay) meets her at the baggage claim of Chicago O’Hare airport to discuss her daughter’s ill-fated trip to Jordan. They headed back to her mom’s place to grab a giant glass of wine and sit down to discuss the ongoing drama. Brittany explained that the family Yazan wants them to get married right away, amongst other things like having her convert to Islam and delete all of her social media. Mother Brittany feels that her daughter should be honest and tell both Yazan and his parents about her current marital status, and also respect their culture. She doesn’t however think her daughter should change who she is and delete all of her booty shots on the ‘gram (that is, in fact, a great example of who she is).

Next we see Brittany prepping for her court hearing about her secret divorce. As it should turn out, no one in the clerk’s office uploaded any of the necessary info to the file, so the hearing as well as the entire trip was all for nothing. Brittany will have to refile and reapply, which screws up the timeframe of her lie to Yazan and his family. .Brittany’s mom encourages her to come up with another plan, as Brit explains that there is no way she can tell family Yazan that she’s still married, or she will received 100 “hullas” and more of Yazan screaming “F*ck the Brittany!!”. Looks like she’ll have to extend her ticket and stay a bit longer.
It’s always amazing to see how Brittany can discuss her dumpster fire situation while smiling with those braces, in all of their glory, at the same time. 

Karmando:

Truffles hits the road, yet again, as he accompanies his dads to meet the family Armando for the big Kenny reveal. The couple talked as they drove for hours, discussing how things might go. Kenny was worried that he wouldn’t be able to communicate with Armando’s family, being that he hasn’t bothered to learn any Spanish past “Hola” throughout their three year relationship. No Rosetta Stone, Babble…. Or ironic 90’s “Muzzy”. He’s also from Florida, where almost everything is in Spanish, so I guess it just wasn’t on his to-do list. Nothing. He learned the phrase “mucho gusto” via Armando in the car, and was hoping he could remember it to really impress the crowd. Poor Truffles was embarrassed..

The pair showed up to the family’s homestead, where everyone was sitting around a campfire like the tribal council ceremony on “Survivor”, Espanol. Armando was really struggling to fight through the uncomfortable silence and awkwardness of his family staring at his new fiance. Armando’s dad and namesake didn’t want to join the fire pit, as he was struggling with accepting his son’s new life. He did, however, come to the door to hug Armando and managed to squeeze out a “hi” and handshake to Kenny. Kenny felt disappointed that Armando’s father wouldn’t at least sit down for 10 minutes to talk (though Ken-doll had already said “hola” AND “mucho gusto”, so he wouldn’t have had any other cool Spanish words to use anyway). Armando understood the difficulty his father was having with his situation and seemed to be proud of his father’s tiny little baby steps. 

Back at the bonfire, the family expressed their sadness that Armando and Hannah will be living far away, which just made Kenny feel even worse. Armando worked up the courage to announce the couples’ engagement to his family, standing up and putting on his ring. Instead of congratulatory hugs and praises, the family stared blankly with awkward silence. It was hard not to feel bad for Karmando, as they were so excited to finally be together and just wanted to share it with their loved ones. Armando’s mom was visibly upset, but eventually welcomed Kenny to the family, and invited him to stay for the night, saying “Mi casa es su casa”, which Kenny didn’t understand, and just hoped didn’t mean he had to eat any yucky guacamole. 
It looked like Truffles had the best time of all at the campfire de la familia de Armando, as the old gal was being passed around to everyone there. (Also it must be noted that at least 3 of the women in Armando’s family looked exactly like him. Like interchangeable faces, exact clones). 

Ariela & Baby Boy Biniyam:

This is what I am here for. This. I have been waiting to watch this girl give birth in Ethiopia for months and it’s almost show time. 

When we left off, it seemed as though the reality of getting pregnant by a virtual stranger in a foreign country, not knowing anyone else in said country, and not having your family or a toilet with a seat was starting to set in for Ariela. Though happy, sad, upset, or confused, she smiled awkwardly on…
The couple seemed to have found a decent affordable apartment for the time being that is close to the hospital. Ariela explains to Biniyam that she doesn’t want him out shaking his butt at the nightclub for dollars for at least a month after the baby is born, though they could really use the money, as things in Ethiopia are far more expensive than a Sally Struthers commercial lets on. (Ariela was under the impression she could support her child for 25 cents a day).
The expecting couple went on a car shopping excursion to a local used car lot. The first car they looked at (a 2008 Toyota Yaris, which is the same size as Shaq’s roller skates) was retailing in Ethiopia for $22k USD. Option number 2 was a much older 4 door sedan for about $17k. Ariela was outraged at the prices, clearly having thought everything in Ethiopia would be $5, and is starting to worry about how they will be able to afford to live. 
Biniyam admitted to the producers that he wouldn’t mind if Ariela’s parents wanted to help them pay for things, as he is on a butt-bongo sabbatical.
Next we saw Ariela go to her 39 week appointment and have an ultrasound, which showed that the baby is still breech. The technician was also afraid of her low fluid levels and lack of movement from the baby. He sent her to see her doctor, who informs her that it is in fact D day and that she will actually be in the que for a c-section that same day.
Areila begins to panic (which is ironically the same face she makes as when she’s happy), as she feels completely unprepared and is wishing her mother/personal positive gangster was there. 
The previews for her “birth story” look like one of the most terrifying in 90 Day history, alongside Emily, Karine, and Olga’s (in that exact order).

Cheesestick & Melyza:

Well, I had just about forgotten about these two (though I kept forgetting about them when they were on every week before the hiatus as well). It seems like Tim (aka Cheesestick) is still trying to make things right with his girlfriend Melyza for some reason, who seems like she kind of still hates him and just had him move there to torture him for cheating on her. The whole relationship seems pretty pointless, but nonetheless….Tim went to another employment agency to try and find work in Coe-lum-bee-yuh. Meanwhile, Melyza is lunching with her brother and friend, telling them about a little secret of her own. Apparently during her time apart from McCheesy, she had a few little “flings” of her own, which she explained “were mostly sexual, yes”. She tells her brother and co. that she thinks it’s important to tell Tim this secret so they can move forward. So basically they both cheated on each other and she and her entire family don’t like him. Why are they on t.v. again?! 

16 thoughts on “The Other Way; S3, EP 15

  1. JoAnn kish says:

    I laugh so hard at your reviews! Especially when you write that it took a month for Sum it to get up the stairs.😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂

  2. Lauren Hunter says:

    Awesome Erika you should be writing on tic.,.ypur recaps are the highlight of my 90 day experience. Keep it up
    Do you the Florian will be announceing he has a child or one on the way with Shanti?

  3. LuAnn Baker says:

    To think I remember when you first started entertaining the thought & sceptical about starting a blog… Look at you now, you’re killing it.

    Love ya, Erica!

  4. Leslie Granson says:

    First time I’ve seen your critiques, very funny and clever. This was a shocker you must comment on next time: Princess Ari got married to some Argentinian man she came across in her voluminous travels. She was 17 yo and married for 10 years!! ( separated for the last 3 yrs). She allegedly met Biniyam online and her “mission” to Ethiopia was to meet and get pg by him! She also allegedly only stayed in upscale American resorts while living there in Ethiopia for a couple of years! So she really never actually knew how the common folk, like Biniyam, tried to live and survive on practically no money. This whole thing is supposedly “her rebellion” but at 28 yo, she’s a bit late for that! And her parents have funded almost her entire ride of course.

  5. Carolyn says:

    Wonderful job. As usual. I agree with you that Sioux-meat took FOREVER to walk to his parents’ and then up the staircase. Could it be that there’s actually no interesting storyline? I’m wondering if he’s working these days.
    I am continually amazed, as is everyone else, that these folks meet and presumably have sex with total strangers in foreign countries about which they know very little. And every time Kenny comes on I think to myself
    ” don’t cry, don’t cry”… but guess what happens! All of his family seemed to be quite affluent and they are only a plane ride away so why all the “boohoo I’ve lost my family forever”.

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