BTG: July 2025 Discussion Thread

5 minutes ago, Broderick said:

Odd man out probably, but I thought Anita & Nicole's scenes were extremely good.   

No, I thoroughly enjoyed them.

2 minutes ago, DemetriKane said:

They are writing Vernon and Anita, realistic for "some" elders in the black community. They act quickly in the name of protecting the family, but in the process, they end up hurting even more people. In all that covering up, did anyone even attempt to get Martin some mental care? Hell, did Vernon get any? 

Would that be on the forefront of their minds, though? From a generational standpoint, especially, would it be?

You can't scoop everything under the table, and the Duprees will hopefully learn that the hard way. 

Just now, Liberty City said:

No, I thoroughly enjoyed them.

Would that be on the forefront of their minds, though? From a generational standpoint, especially, would it be?

Somewhere during the 2-year gap, it should have come up. And the fact that Anita did not apologize for overstepping her hand. Nicole is just not family, she's his mom, and that's messed up. Anita robbed her of being there for Martin when he needed her most.

Edited July 18Jul 18 by DemetriKane

With pre-emptions awhile back, are we in sync with the days? Are the planned Friday cliffhangers actually airing on a Friday?

Martin only recently began having nightmare/flashbacks,right?

So as far as everyone in the know was concerned the issue was over and done with, so no need for Nicole to know. Especially with Vernon and Anita wanting everything to appear as normal.

Just now, Paul Raven said:

Martin only recently began having nightmare/flashbacks,right?

Nope. That started, I wanna say around episode 3.

Vernon and Anita probably wanted to have a son, and I think there was some disappointment when Dani ended up not being a son.  And their grandchildren were mostly female instead of male.. so Martin became their de facto son.

 

That's all fine and makes the family dynamic more complex, but why hasn't it shown up in the dialogue yet?

46 minutes ago, DemetriKane said:

It's way too early for this show to be writing with bias and favoritism.

 

35 minutes ago, Soaplovers said:

When the creator is one of the show runners/head writers... bias and favoritism is more likely a thing.  Especially if said creator has indicated that the characters have been playing in her mind for years.

 

30 minutes ago, DemetriKane said:

Which is a shame. It's a horrible way to write a show. 

What happened to fairness?

In my opinion, the writing for the Dupree characters are not affected by writers lacking "fairness" or showing "favoritism" or "bias".
It's *not* the job of a writer to give each character equal focus.
It's the job of a writer to tell stories, with good characterizations that are naturally part of the stories.

I do agree that Nicole's and Ted's points of view have been lacking to some degree.  But I don't think that's about "fairness" or "favoritism" at all.   Nicole is one of my favorite characters and I stand up for her, but I don't think the writers are treating the Nicole character unfairly.

I do think that the writing is *intentionally* planned to show how Anita and Vernon try to dominate everyone, and that this is *supposed* to show that they do this to their offspring.  That's part of the characterization of Anita and Vernon.  If anything, I think it's intended to emphasize that Anita and Vernon are the ones being unfair, and patronizing to Nicole.

The only focus I object to is the focus on Joey Armstrong, and I do think that's partially because Guza liked mob stories but also because MVJ is friends with Lindstrom; and Lindstrom himself is interested in mob stories, per the novels he's written.

32 minutes ago, DemetriKane said:

Somewhere during the 2-year gap, it should have come up. And the fact that Anita did not apologize for overstepping her hand. Nicole is just not family, she's his mom, and that's messed up. Anita robbed her of being there for Martin when he needed her most.

But if they were unaware of the nightmares (which seemed to be what was alluded to), they wouldn't. And when Martin did bring it up... Vernon said 'no', because they did not want it getting out.

14 minutes ago, Soaplovers said:

Vernon and Anita probably wanted to have a son, and I think there was some disappointment when Dani ended up not being a son.  And their grandchildren were mostly female instead of male.. so Martin became their de facto son.

Just now, janea4old said:

 

 

In my opinion, the writing for the Dupree characters are not affected by writers lacking "fairness" or showing "favoritism" or "bias".
It's *not* the job of a writer to give each character equal focus.
It's the job of a writer to tell stories, with good characterizations that are naturally part of the stories.

I do agree that Nicole's and Ted's points of view have been lacking to some degree.  But I don't think that's about "fairness" or "favoritism" at all.   Nicole is one of my favorite characters and I stand up for her, but I don't think the writers are treating the Nicole character unfairly.

I do think that the writing is *intentionally* planned to show how Anita and Vernon try to dominate everyone, and that this is *supposed* to show that they do this to their offspring.  That's part of the characterization of Anita and Vernon.  If anything, I think it's intended to emphasize that Anita and Vernon are the ones being unfair, and patronizing to Nicole.

The only focus I object to is the focus on Joey Armstrong, and I do think that's partially because Guza liked mob stories but also because MVJ is friends with Lindstrom; and Lindstrom himself is interested in mob stories, per the novels he's written.

And I respectfully disagree with that. Nicole is not treated with the same care as the other core characters. Even though she wasn't on every day, Anita had moments from week one that let you know her position in that family, and fun moments that let her stand out. Dani was given the same from week one, and she was also given loads of quiet mirror scenes and flashbacks after her betrayal. Nicole has not gotten to do the same, heck, even Dana got to have fun mirror moments that showcase her craziness.

I am sure the writing for Anita/Vernon is intentional. But away from the family, Nicole needed more moments about her inner thoughts, and the writers have not written that.

1 hour ago, DemetriKane said:

1 hour ago, wonderwoman1951 said:

the relationships within the richardsons have been lacking since the show began — especially when compared with the hamiltons. now that the shi* is hitting the fan, those gaps are glaring. 

Exactly. Martin didn't have a true one-on-one with his mother, Nicole, until very recently. The writers do not write her character with the same care as the other core 4. 

and iirc, yesterday’s scene with samantha was the first time we’ve seen nicole with her grandchildren -  after 5 months! 

really not fair to viewers. and goes back to the beginning: too much happening to too many characters too quickly. so many stories they could have introduced later — ashley/derek, and chelsea’s romantic entanglements come to mind. 

Just now, DemetriKane said:

And I respectfully disagree with that. Nicole is not treated with the same care as the other core characters. Even though she wasn't on every day, Anita had moments from week one that let you know her position in that family, and fun moments that let her stand out. Dani was given the same from week one, and she was also given loads of quiet mirror scenes and flashbacks after her betrayal. Nicole has not gotten to do the same, heck, even Dana got to have fun mirror moments that showcase her craziness.

I am sure the writing for Anita/Vernon is intentional. But away from the family, Nicole needed more moments about her inner thoughts, and the writers have not written that.

I feel like as a therapist, her 'inner thoughts' are muted; seeing her mention she didn't think choking out Dana was in her showcased that (to me, anyway).

12 minutes ago, janea4old said:

I do think that the writing is *intentionally* planned to show how Anita and Vernon try to dominate everyone, and that this is *supposed* to show that they do this to their offspring.  That's part of the characterization of Anita and Vernon.  If anything, I think it's intended to emphasize that Anita and Vernon are the ones being unfair, and patronizing to Nicole.

The only focus I object to is the focus on Joey Armstrong, and I do think that's partially because Guza liked mob stories but also because MVJ is friends with Lindstrom; and Lindstrom himself is interested in mob stories, per the novels he's written.

I think they're intentionally portrayed that way, too.

Nicole pretty much spat it out today when she basically said, "You're not parents; you're a Crime Syndicate of mobsters!" 

From Day One, they've tut-tutted that Dani is a little bit "volatile".  But what they really seem to think is, "Nicole, dear, we're finding it MUCH easier to manipulate you and walk all over you, because you're so even-tempered."  

Anita & Vernon probably don't mean to be that way, but they are.  And that's what makes them interesting instead of just a couple of sappy oldsters. 

They sometimes remind me of a rich version of Frank & Marie Barone on "Everybody Loves Raymond", lol.    

It's very telling that Martin could be so considerate and thankful for his grandparents and not show concern about how Nicole was doing after learning what happened. They could have written that he was going to call and check on her. I know Nicole stormed off, but why not have it where at least Anita offered to have the driver take her home? 

And what a coincidence that her husband, with whom she had loads of chemistry, was recast. 

1 hour ago, Broderick said:

I think it's interesting that Vernon and Anita basically just took Sweet Baby away from Nicole & Ted and act like he's theirs since he's a politician.  I've always thought he should've been written as their son, but honestly, the way it's being handled makes better sense from a dramatic standpoint.  It reveals yet another "family flaw" hiding beneath the surface of a family that attempts to put on such a pretty facade.  

Odd man out probably, but I thought Anita & Nicole's scenes were extremely good.   

I agree with all of this. I actually like that Vernon and Anita seemingly overcompensate by not having a son of their own by basically claiming Martin to the point of not including his mom in important situations in his life. He’s very clearly the favorite grandchild.

4 minutes ago, wonderwoman1951 said:

and iirc, yesterday’s scene with samantha was the first time we’ve seen nicole with her grandchildren -  after 5 months! 

really not fair to viewers. and goes back to the beginning: too much happening to too many characters too quickly. so many stories they could have introduced later — ashley/derek, and chelsea’s romantic entanglements come to mind. 

Yes, it sadly was. The children did attend her award ceremony, but I don't remember any dialogue.