Transcript
Sarah-Daye McDougall: Hello, Book Watchers. Welcome back once again. um It's Jordan and Chris. It's just us. Sarah Day has got family obligations. Bless her heart.
Chris: Lonely.
Sarah-Daye McDougall: And so once again, you get a. Chaotic duo. uh for this here episode uh this is part two of margo's got money troubles based on the 2024 novel by rufy thorpe and the 2026 apple tv show Adaptation.
Sarah-Daye McDougall: created by David E. Kelly and Rufy Thorpe, the author, served as an executive producer. and We had a couple of different directors. But I think the show flowed pretty well.
Sarah-Daye McDougall: um and we are going to get into all of that all of the plot uh big changes small changes consistencies ah right after these messages.
Sarah-Daye McDougall: And we're back. Alright. Chris, are you ready?
Chris: I'm ready. Let's do this. Got that early morning energy.
Sarah-Daye McDougall: were here
Chris: Oh, wait.
Sarah-Daye McDougall: Hmm.
Chris: it's too early for that
Sarah-Daye McDougall: Hmm.
Chris: But we'll try our best.
Sarah-Daye McDougall: We're doing our best. Okay. So. last week you know we We kind of got into it as we were talking about the characters and their arcs throughout the show.
Sarah-Daye McDougall: but Basically, Margo is a first year college student. Who? sleeps with her teacher. which is... Like she is of age and she can sense, but there's still like a really crazy power dynamic there where.
Sarah-Daye McDougall: I... strongly feel like he took advantage of her and that's kind of one of the main cruxes throughout the story is you know People are trying to argue that she...
Sarah-Daye McDougall: ah you know persuaded him, took advantage of him.
Chris: Took advantage of him. yeah know
Sarah-Daye McDougall: versus him doing it to her. We'll get into that when we get into that. um But she becomes pregnant through this affair. She tells him and he's like.
Sarah-Daye McDougall: I got a wife and kids. I want nothing to do with that. Okay, that's awesome. That's great for you to to be able to do that. um She chooses to keep the baby and he is born. His name is Bodie. and She now has to face the struggle of being a single teen mom, you know.
Sarah-Daye McDougall: We think of teen moms as being mostly like in high school and she's in college, but she still is 19, 20 years old when he's born. So a teen mom. single No job, no prospects, no, you know.
Sarah-Daye McDougall: No opportunities.
Chris: And hence the title character. Margo's got money trouble.
Sarah-Daye McDougall: Right? Exactly. um And so this is just her journey of trying to figure out how do I take care of this kid? What can I do? How can I make things work? and so she discovers the world of OnlyFans.
Sarah-Daye McDougall: And she starts selling. you know. her body and and photos and images and videos of her body and she does it in a really creative way where there's a storyline and costumes and makeup and production value. It's not just sitting in the bedroom you know with ah with an iPhone taking photos. um And.
Sarah-Daye McDougall: than that. She gets doxxed? And then she has to deal with being doxxed as you know this taboo. type of person, a sex worker. And she has to deal with her.
Sarah-Daye McDougall: mom Cheyenne and her uber religious Christian boyfriend fiance husband and then her ex -pro wrestler dad who just got out of rehab and can't quite kick it and has to go back to rehab roommates like there' she's got a lot going on. um And it ends with, you know, all of these various government agencies, ah child protective services and the courts, you know.
Sarah-Daye McDougall: figuring out is is she a fit mother is she fit to be bodhi's mother and legal guardian and to have you know primary custody over this kid. because her professor or baby daddy ah does end up suing for custody after i saying he wanted nothing to do with the kid.
Sarah-Daye McDougall: Um. That's like the broad strokes of everything obviously there's a lot more to it We'll get into each of those things. in a little bit more detail, but Chris, what were your, like...
Sarah-Daye McDougall: initial thoughts of the show and how well it adapted. these story beats from the book.
Chris: as i was watching through the episodes i felt like i was missing parts of it it definitely felt like they cut out a lot um and i think that i think i mentioned last week that uh Some of it I understand because there's definitely a story that can can be done without it and then stuff that I think they're going to put into a season two since they've already renewed it.
Chris: So I do think that they'll...
Sarah-Daye McDougall: Mm -hmm.
Chris: They made the right call on some of these things. But there's huge storylines like the the guy she starts to fall for. That, uh... she has a whole bunch of drama with between him finally finding out who she is after the doxing and that she's been lying to him but she was really just protecting herself and he gets that you know there's a whole bunch of stuff there that leads into them talking about doing the business at the very end and that was all cut from the film
Chris: Um, And as far as like the way they did. they showed the um only fan stuff i think that they left out some of the like more creative writing uh elements of what she um did with it i mean she was uh you know comparing uh male anatomy to pokemon at the very beginning of the book uh as part of her uh Her.
Chris: intro and writing these little, uh, creative blurbs for part of the tip that people give her and uh you know i'm talking about The. ah moves and attacks. and it was It was cute and ah and gross and ah and something that people would definitely enjoy. And so it definitely...
Chris: um was missing some of that i think in the film it was more just you know oh i can take pictures and people will buy them and it kind of uh reduced only fans a little bit i think i think and her work there because she is a writer that's the whole point that's her english professor who she slept with not going back to school for that because he Paid her off to not go back and to keep the baby away from him basically And then him coming after her. A lot of that was in there. but Some of the...
Chris: um goals for her of becoming a writer got kind of just shifted into helping these other OnlyFans models ah write. better content for their storylines.
Chris: And not so much her being creative. and even on her own.
Sarah-Daye McDougall: Yeah, I mean they do include you know, her conversations with mark her professor and he says like you know you could be a writer like you should be at yale or harvard or something or stanford whatever you know one of these big schools like writing like you're very talented like you can go somewhere um But we don't really get to see her actually like.
Sarah-Daye McDougall: doing that kind of writing and like you know giving us like tangible examples, like you said, of her writing abilities, like the Pokemon comparisons and, you know.
Sarah-Daye McDougall: we don't really get a lot of detail of the script it's more like the way the show does it is more of just like slow -mo glamour shots of these girls like writing their bodies while in. like makeup and costume, um which like.
Sarah-Daye McDougall: For a visual medium, like... looked very beautiful. but you know. if her whole thing is she wants to be a writer, you kind of have to show her writing in order for that to make sense.
Chris: And her whole part of the...
Sarah-Daye McDougall: so
Chris: the trio she builds these other girls was as the writer for the group really she was ah she was on a screen as well but She was the one they were waiting on to write these scripts and stuff. so They could have easily left that element in there, I think, and had them waiting, you know, frustrated with her for not getting something finished on a deadline. and it would have been It would have been there, but that's okay.
Sarah-Daye McDougall: Yeah. Yeah.
Chris: It was fine. Hopefully the next season has more of that, I think.
Sarah-Daye McDougall: yeah or or even just like making it more obvious because like i think you know if you are paying super close attention like you can tell like she says like i created the hungry ghost character and the alien and like persona of that character like she It...
Chris: right
Sarah-Daye McDougall: she does say that she does all that and the show does show that but it's not like as much of a focus as it is in the book so you know for her character and kind of flushing her out a little bit more like i would have liked to see that too and then you mentioned the the the whole jb line gets cut that's this is this guy who you know she gives him the pokemon comparison and then he keeps sending her money and messaging her and they form.
Chris: Lot of money.
Sarah-Daye McDougall: a lot of money and they form you know this bond and they end up meeting in person In the book.
Chris: Never meet the wrong person.
Sarah-Daye McDougall: And. in in that whole storyline is cut now. When I was watching it, I didn't know that the show had been renewed for a season two.
Sarah-Daye McDougall: So I was just upset that they had cut the whole thing. But then the very last like scene of the show is. this guy JB messaging her on OnlyFans. I'm like, oh, so they're just gonna...
Sarah-Daye McDougall: cut that and move it. and have that be the whole crux of season two. Got it. And that like. If you want to do a season two. it makes sense that that would be the thing to get cut and move to season two. um It was just like.
Sarah-Daye McDougall: confusing and disappointing.
Chris: frustrating as you're going through it yeah
Sarah-Daye McDougall: Yeah. Exactly.
Chris: I think that's a problem Apple TV has had a lot is not having good follow -up. I mean, they've had some shows that do go for multiple seasons with the books and stuff. but I think they keep. option in these books that are pretty self -contained.
Chris: And don't have that extra content. So they have to get creative with how they're going about this. Because they're great at doing these adaptations. But they don't always have the extra seasons they want, I think.
Chris: to keep making money off of it.
Sarah-Daye McDougall: Yeah. Yeah, well, that'll be fixed because they signed Brandon Sanderson for all 100 million of his books.
Chris: Well, yeah, so they
Sarah-Daye McDougall: so They'll be covered.
Chris: As long as they can pull that off, they've got they've got a cash cow for the next 100 years or so.
Sarah-Daye McDougall: Yeah. Um, Okay, let's start getting into a little bit more. detail bit by bit I mean though the the Opening exposition of the book and and the show was pretty.
Sarah-Daye McDougall: Beat for beat, spot on. She's in school. She sleeps with her teacher. She gets pregnant. Like that all is kind of. is is pretty consistent.
Sarah-Daye McDougall: um
Chris: Tales of this time.
Sarah-Daye McDougall: Yeah, pretty much. Um, She has the baby. She argues with her mom, Cheyenne, about it. Cheyenne, you know, says that it's going to ruin her life and, you know.
Sarah-Daye McDougall: you know encourages her to get an abortion and margot is like What are you talking about? She gets the ultrasound and you get to see that scene of her like hearing the heartbeat and like, you know.
Sarah-Daye McDougall: Being like, oh, that's my baby. i I'm not. I'm not getting. an abortion, um which I thought was really sweet. Um. the We talked about it last week too, the Cheyenne character and how...
Sarah-Daye McDougall: much more likable she is in the show because it really was just She didn't even, I don't think she explicitly said like, oh, you should get an abortion or you should terminate this pregnancy. She was more like, you know.
Sarah-Daye McDougall: you have a life to live you have you need a job you like just being a little bit more practical, about The fact.
Chris: She was looking out for her baby. Yeah.
Sarah-Daye McDougall: Yes. Yeah, she was. looking out for her baby and what is best what is best for her baby, Margo. And what's best for her 19 year old child is. to not have her own child at this point. um And that came across a lot.
Sarah-Daye McDougall: kinder and a lot smoother in the show i thought than the book the book felt very harsh to me
Chris: Which... can be a failed adaptation in some ways. I mean, I mean i think that was just, uh, the fact that Michelle Pfeiffer is too likable and too good at you know being a wonderful actress and so she doesn't come off as harsh as Like the character should be at ah adapted to be. that harsh you should see that but i think it worked fine and she's you know She was. ah It was, it was.
Chris: It came across good. so um
Sarah-Daye McDougall: Yeah.
Chris: I was fine with the way it was adapted. And we keep seeing her struggle with these. ah ah grandmotherly instincts and how to be a mom to her daughter all throughout the show she's struggling with. She's got her own life with her new...
Chris: fiance husband. that she's trying to show this certain persona to and not be who she's always been for Margo. So you see Margo struggle throughout the whole thing with my mom is no longer really the woman I knew. She is.
Chris: putting on a face for this new relationship and she's always done this. So I have to just. Do this on my own at this point.
Sarah-Daye McDougall: Yeah. Yeah. which and we talked about that too about how that is kind of you know Cheyenne's version of doing OnlyFans is...
Sarah-Daye McDougall: you know. both ah both of these women are pretending to be something they're not like margot is not a
Chris: to get money.
Sarah-Daye McDougall: you know hypersexual like you know what one might think of as in a stereotype of a sex worker. She's doing it because That's a way for her to work from home and make a lot of money to take care of her kid. sh On the opposite side, Cheyenne has been, you know.
Sarah-Daye McDougall: very sexual, very, you know. extroverted, very outgoing in her life. And now as she gets older she's like i need a Solid.
Sarah-Daye McDougall: foundation a stable person to take care of me as i age and so she's going to pretend to be something she's not which is this uber christian uber you know uh uh, prudish, you know for lack of a better word, person who doesn't drink, doesn't gamble, doesn't have any of these vices that she absolutely has. in order to convince Kenny.
Sarah-Daye McDougall: that you know she is somebody that he should. you know, marry at this stage of life and take care of. So they're both just doing what they have to do to survive. It just looks very, very different.
Chris: Cheyenne's retirement plan.
Sarah-Daye McDougall: Merry well.
Chris: Yeah.
Sarah-Daye McDougall: Amen. um
Chris: Um, There's the scene early on where she's you know breastfeeding and she's squirts milk on the um the mirror and that's when she kind of decides to do the Only fans men would pay for that to see this like
Sarah-Daye McDougall: Absolutely.
Chris: Okay, I guess that's a thought you have that leads you into that sometimes. so But that was pretty funny for sure.
Sarah-Daye McDougall: Yeah. Yeah, that was funny.
Chris: and The comedy of the show was. on point throughout the whole thing they've they had nick offerman there they had you know Um, all this All this content that they really did. Uh,
Chris: lean into to keep it light and fun but also show this serious concept that they were working with.
Sarah-Daye McDougall: Yeah, I thought the show did a really great job of balancing, you know Because this is this is real life for... you know for a lot of women you know teen moms and you know people who get you know taken advantage of even if you know you're a cons consenting adult again that power dynamic of a professor somebody who holds some position of authority in your life you know.
Sarah-Daye McDougall: convincing you you know that the classic you know manipulator thing of like oh you're you're special you know that that happens. And then. pregnancies. Hey, if you have sex. there's always a risk of getting pregnant. you know, in a heterosexual. you know sexual relationship, there's always a chance. So, you know, this is real life and it's heavy and it's hard and it's, you know, there's a lot of tragedy within it. So finding opportunities to.
Sarah-Daye McDougall: get the audience to laugh out loud at something like silly or like Because life is silly. Life is ludicrous. And so like finding opportunities to get us to laugh with the characters, I think it was really important. And I think they did a great job with that.
Chris: And even beyond the power dynamic problems that... people run into there's people that just can't afford life when they're having, you know, even without a kid and then they have a kid and they have to figure things out.
Chris: So I think the show did a good job of.
Sarah-Daye McDougall: Yep.
Chris: showing that, hey. I can't do my serving job because I have a kid now. What do I do? And gave her that desperation and showed that this is why people end up doing. what they have to do, whether it's OnlyFans or...
Chris: You know. whatever they have to do to make money to support their family.
Sarah-Daye McDougall: Yeah. Well, and that scene of her. being fired from her serving job. In the book, her relationship with hurt with that boss, that manager at the restaurant, is a lot more.
Sarah-Daye McDougall: ah deep and a lot more like like i've had bosses that i love like that that you know look out for you as an individual and like
Chris: Almost maternal, yeah.
Sarah-Daye McDougall: Yes, and like really care about you. um And. In the show, like, they just... You don't get a ton of Margo's inner monologue. Like you do get her doing some narration, but not as much as the book, obviously. And so that relationship was just taken from being this deep to this deep.
Sarah-Daye McDougall: And so like you didn't get that feeling of like, you know, this person really cares about Margo as much in the show as you did in the book. um But. you still get the scene of her. telling her like you can't have a newborn child and work in this restaurant like your boobs are leaking on the food the baby is crying and your mom is watching him and cheyenne does not want to be a grandma, does not want to watch this kid. like This is just not going to work out.
Chris: And that child care problem plagues so many people of how do I work a job? to pay for childcare that's super expensive, and then... still afford to. live.
Sarah-Daye McDougall: Yep.
Chris: and And then also leaving your child is, is a.
Sarah-Daye McDougall: Yeah.
Chris: whole other equation there of you know it's it's tough to Go from having a baby and then immediately having to drop your kid off with somebody else to go back to work.
Sarah-Daye McDougall: Yeah. And as a former child care worker. as much as parents have to pay for child care. The childcare workers still don't get paid enough. So, like, it's it's a real it's a real issue because, you know.
Sarah-Daye McDougall: Eh. even as a childcare worker. there's a lot of parents who have to put their kid in child care but like have to cut back their hours at work because they can't afford. child care.
Sarah-Daye McDougall: speak like it's it's ah's a whole It's a whole thing.
Chris: Yeah. It's a balancing act. that
Sarah-Daye McDougall: It's a whole thing.
Chris: Everybody deals with, yeah.
Sarah-Daye McDougall: Yeah. And just like broadly. the cost of living these days like is astronomical and so like you know There's... going there have been more and more people going to places like only fans you know because the different there's a huge difference which she talks about in the book and the show of only fans is
Sarah-Daye McDougall: You can do that from home. You're not actually having to put yourself in a position of potential danger by meeting up with a John at a hotel or whatever to like actually have sex with somebody. you're just taking photos and videos from the safety of your home.
Sarah-Daye McDougall: And so like that.
Chris: you're selling fantasy yeah and which is why why the analogy of her creating this like fantasy character to be her thing it made sense to me a lot and i really like that because really that's what she's doing is selling
Sarah-Daye McDougall: Exactly.
Sarah-Daye McDougall: Yeah.
Chris: people i get away and escape the same way a book can but uh
Sarah-Daye McDougall: Mhm.
Chris: she was using that creativity to sell that fantasy in a different way.
Sarah-Daye McDougall: Yeah. Absolutely.
Chris: They got her paid.
Sarah-Daye McDougall: yeah there's there's a lot of interesting real world like concerns and questions and concepts that come up throughout this.
Sarah-Daye McDougall: property that like If you really... like you can just read it as you know a silly haha you know story about a girl who creates a alien character on OnlyFans. But if you really sit with it and like dive deep into this book and like what it's trying to say, there's a lot to get into.
Sarah-Daye McDougall: with it.
Chris: Yeah. um When Jinx finds out about her OnlyFans, he was kind of the one who caused her to start it because he mentioned one of his old colleagues that makes a ton of money doing it, one of the wrestlers.
Chris: And she mostly plays video games on it and just, you know. uh uses it as that kind of content uh platform but um when she found it out about it she went and did her research and as i understand the um the staff of the um the show the actresses and the producers and everybody they had a shared account that they were using to Um, to go and do their research. So they they actually researched out OnlyFans quite a bit throughout this process and how people were using it and what that meant.
Chris: um But when Jinx finds out he has a... very bad reaction at first he's very worried about her and he reacts poorly And then he comes back later and apologizes and realizes it. I'm out of place here. This is how you're supporting your family. It's almost the same thing in a lot of ways as wrestling. It's all it's just fake. We're you know entertaining people.
Chris: I'm going to support you through this. And that was super sweet. And I think Nick Offerman played it really well. Hmm. And. ah I think that. that was ah i mean I think that's one of the best castings, and we talked about that last week.
Chris: But I think he was perfect for that role and he really showed.
Sarah-Daye McDougall: Yeah.
Chris: He cared about her, and he... um supported her even though he didn't quite understand it and he tried his best to learn to understand it throughout the show and help her out.
Sarah-Daye McDougall: Mm -hmm.
Chris: because... That's what he used to do, help. help wrestlers get more.
Sarah-Daye McDougall: Yeah.
Chris: money through the, all the, you know. management side of things.
Sarah-Daye McDougall: Yeah. Well, and I think like. to your point of casting like The show feels very real. Like I can see, you know. in an alternate universe if i'm margot i can see my dad having that exact same reaction and being angry and upset and hurt and then being like you know what You're doing what you have to do to survive.
Sarah-Daye McDougall: i hey also i was an absent father i wasn't there for you to help you and to take care of you I just got out of rehab, so I'm still not really in a position to take care of you, you know, the way that a father should. so if I can just, you know, babysit the kid while you do this and to take care of him, then that's what I'm going to do. And, you know, and it feels real that way. I can really.
Sarah-Daye McDougall: believe that a dad would have that exact reaction And then also, you know, be trying to do the right thing by his kid now, you know, better late than never. And, you know, coming back and saying, you know, I'm sorry, like, what do you need me to do to to help you with this?
Chris: Yeah, you got to meet people where they are. You can't always, I mean, even if he did want to change her, which didn't seem like that was the way this was going, but even if he did want to change her, you have to meet her where she is first and help her through.
Sarah-Daye McDougall: Yeah.
Chris: the hard part of life right now, and then help figure out where she goes from here.
Sarah-Daye McDougall: Yeah.
Chris: But I think they balanced it really well.
Sarah-Daye McDougall: Yeah. Yeah. Absolutely. Um... Trying to stay on track. with the plot points.
Chris: There was a track?
Sarah-Daye McDougall: and Oh, God.
Chris: Oh no. Jesus.
Sarah-Daye McDougall: Well, trying to not just. be opining on you know culture and life. and
Chris: Yeah.
Sarah-Daye McDougall: How this story tells it.
Chris: That's what this part of the show is about, right? and were we're just we We're comparing the thing, but we're also just talking about the story.
Sarah-Daye McDougall: Yeah.
Chris: so
Sarah-Daye McDougall: Yeah. This is true.
Chris: um The adaptation, we already kind of went through that every time we've talked about this. We always talk about. the how it was adapted throughout the first episode too so everybody that's listened to the first episode knows that we liked it but it wasn't a perfect adaptation because they cut all that stuff out Um,
Sarah-Daye McDougall: and It's never a perfect adaptation, guys. like It's pretty. There's always something that doesn't get. pulled in.
Chris: That's why we're here, to complain about that one thing.
Sarah-Daye McDougall: That's what, hey. Oh. which is great because otherwise we wouldn't have a show. So, you know, it's working out.
Chris: Exactly.
Sarah-Daye McDougall: Um,
Chris: We're here for you, listener. We're going to get you that. One complaint you can bring home to all your friends and say this show was terrible.
Sarah-Daye McDougall: Yep.
Chris: They didn't have JB in it. And now you know.
Sarah-Daye McDougall: Pretty much. Um, The next big story beat I think is... um Before Margot even starts the OnlyFans, she goes... Back to baby daddy, Professor Mark.
Sarah-Daye McDougall: to ask him for money. which Like she should be asking for consistent, regular, permanent child support. But she doesn't. She just wants like.
Sarah-Daye McDougall: you know three thousand dollars or something just to make her next rent payment while she figures it out um And Mark not only... you know initially denies her but then he sends his mommy after her with a lawyer later and it's like okay you can have your three grand and we'll put 15 grand into an account for Bodhi when he's an adult But you also have to sign in. You have to drop out of college. And you can never attend the the school that he teaches that Mark teaches at.
Sarah-Daye McDougall: And you could never, you know, talk to Mark or tell anybody that Mark is the father of the baby. And again. Margot is a 19 year old girl.
Sarah-Daye McDougall: Legally an adult. realistically still very much a child. And she. Has no legal representation. She cannot truly comprehend what she's signing or what she you know should be entitled to. as somebody who shares a kid with this guy and so she signs the and nda and you know gets her money and goes on her way.
Chris: yeah And that's, yeah. One of the things that didn't make sense to me is like, you know, he really should be, you know. going after that child support at this point and getting this taken care of. I mean, she wanted to protect him too because she's...
Chris: um A. empathetic person and she knows he had his wife and everything and she knows she was kind of the wrong here but it doesn't matter once there's a baby and put in the um in the story you gotta you gotta go after what you need to support your child and that sometimes means.
Chris: what the dad owes in this situation. But yeah, it felt very Gilmore Girls to me, you know, you know the ah
Sarah-Daye McDougall: Absolutely.
Chris: the family basically.
Sarah-Daye McDougall: Yeah.
Chris: using their money to manipulate the situation and try to get their, you know. protect their child.
Sarah-Daye McDougall: Yeah, and what and the Actress. um Marsha Gay Harden, who plays Elizabeth Gable, Mark's mom. She's fabulous in this role. And I absolutely hated her the entire, she's just like the epitome of like.
Sarah-Daye McDougall: ah sitting on her high horse, looking down her nose at people. um and you know she's there she
Chris: Old money.
Sarah-Daye McDougall: Yep. Yeah, old and she gave off the old money vibe for sure. I don't know how old your money can be in California, but still.
Chris: It doesn't need to be old for it to be for for you to feel that way.
Sarah-Daye McDougall: Old money.
Sarah-Daye McDougall: That's true.
Chris: and treat people that way.
Sarah-Daye McDougall: Absolutely. You can. yeah So she you know she played that really well um and really made herself into the villain. Um, even more so than mart like every time she was on screen i was more focused on how terrible she was than the fact that This is all Mark's fault.
Sarah-Daye McDougall: um So she really likes.
Chris: Mark felt like the child. I mean, you you keep talking about how Margo was the 19 -year -old, but every time we see him on the screen, he feels like a sniveling child who's...
Sarah-Daye McDougall: Yeah.
Sarah-Daye McDougall: Yeah.
Chris: you know has his mommy protecting him and so and margot feels like the adult even though it was absolutely started out the opposite of you it was her as a teenager that he was taking advantage of but he's never had a face consequences without mama fixing the problems for him so he just ran right back into those
Sarah-Daye McDougall: Mm -hmm.
Chris: that trap. and I mean, by the end of the story, we do get him coming and saying. I'm sorry, I was wrong. ah Can I be a part of Bodhi's life?
Sarah-Daye McDougall: Mhm.
Chris: I was just trying to look out for him, but I went about this all wrong.
Sarah-Daye McDougall: Yeah.
Chris: And that really but it touched me. I was like, oh, good. He at least is admitting you know his faults and wants to. Start over a little bit, but it did require going through a whole court battle. A lot of, a lot of strain on a new mom, a lot of strain on.
Chris: Someone who's trying to just survive. And. So, I mean, it all could have been avoided if he just said. Hi, I'm Neil. I'm here to be a part of my kid's life. Here's some money. you know Let's set up a plan. And I have to tell my wife that might blow up my life, but I'm going to take responsibility here.
Sarah-Daye McDougall: Yeah. That's really fascinating that you bought that at the end when he's saying, like, oh, like, I'm really sorry. Like, I didn't i didn't know, you know, I should have. I should have listened to you. I should have, you know.
Sarah-Daye McDougall: gone about everything differently because I still at the end was like get this guy out of here like I don't.
Chris: Now, is that the film or the book you're talking? cause
Sarah-Daye McDougall: both both
Chris: They've both had it but Okay.
Sarah-Daye McDougall: For both, I still was like... screw this guy like you're a piece of shit like you've been a piece of crap and you like I. that's also like me and my personality though. Like once.
Sarah-Daye McDougall: you've like actively done me harm. I'm not very prone to forgiveness. It's something that I'm working on. um ah But... But I'm not prone to forgiveness because I, you know.
Sarah-Daye McDougall: And i I call it more of like a self -defense mechanism. Like I don't want to allow myself to be hurt again. And so like if you've already proven that you. can't be trusted that you don't care about me that you don't you know respect me why would I let you to still be in my life to do that again. type of thing um
Chris: And I get that.
Sarah-Daye McDougall: But.
Chris: i i I am the opposite. I will give people. Lots of chances. I am i am very forgiving. um And I like to see the good in people where I can. i like to um I know how messy life can be, and I know that sometimes people make mistakes. and so i I know I've made mistakes, so I know that if I can forgive people and give them another chance, then ah it can lead to a better future in some cases.
Chris: Now, they might hurt me again, but especially when there's a kid involved, I think that you have to try to look out for your child's best interest. And that a lot of times means having. that father in the mix if they can be.
Sarah-Daye McDougall: Yeah.
Chris: And if they're willing to be a good father, I mean, I'm not going to give him a lot of leash. If that's, if I'm Margo at this point, I'm going to let him come.
Sarah-Daye McDougall: Yeah.
Chris: Spend some time with him and make sure that he's actually you know going to be here for him throughout this. but I believe that giving him a chance to be a part of his life is the right thing, and it seemed like what she was willing to do from the very beginning. She didn't want a relationship with him at that point. She just wanted...
Chris: to take care of her child.
Sarah-Daye McDougall: yeah No, you're valid. You're right I just... I just don't like it
Chris: We need all kinds of people. And so, you know, I need you to protect me from those people when we have conversations about, you know, should I forgive this person?
Sarah-Daye McDougall: i will
Chris: You're like, no.
Sarah-Daye McDougall: now
Chris: kick them out and I have to be here to help you forgive people when you need to.
Sarah-Daye McDougall: Yes, yes
Chris: That's why our friendship works.
Sarah-Daye McDougall: Yep. That's why we're besties. um Yeah. Yeah. So... Yeah, so she after she signs this NDA...
Sarah-Daye McDougall: this is when she's and she gets fired from the restaurant from her waitressing job this is where she's you know Jinx walks back into her life. She's been trying to contact him.
Sarah-Daye McDougall: Throughout her entire pregnancy, throughout the birth, throughout the first few months of Bodhi's life, she cannot get a hold of him. He literally shows up on her doorstep. He's like, hey. I just got out of rehab. That's why I didn't have a phone and I couldn't contact you.
Chris: I got your message, yeah. and But when he shows up with that check and just says, here's the money you asked for.
Sarah-Daye McDougall: Got your message. I'm here.
Chris: I'm here to help. What can I do? It was so touching. I was like, oh, he came right here.
Sarah-Daye McDougall: Yes. yes yeah um and we don't get as much of jinx's background in the show either again i think it's just cut for time but like he does have a whole wife and like three or four kids with this other woman
Chris: Yeah. We talk about her siblings, yeah, her half -siblings in this book a lot.
Sarah-Daye McDougall: Yeah. Yeah. So they they mention it for sure in the show, um but... We don't get. It's not. Maybe it's just been a while since I've seen the show, but I don't feel like it was as explicit that like.
Chris: it was mentioned yeah like you said but uh that you know why aren't you why don't you go live with one of them and they've all got their lives and aren't in a spot to help him out so It's the same kind of thing as the book, but they did go dig into them deeper in the book.
Sarah-Daye McDougall: Yeah. So. She, you know... offers to let Jinx move in with her because her roommates, you know.
Sarah-Daye McDougall: She it's. Margo and three other girls, the two cats and Susie um living in this apartment, the two cats, you know. are I struggle with them a lot because they are like.
Sarah-Daye McDougall: Very. And Hermione Granger, like, I have a test in the morning. I haven't i have an exam or a midterm or whatever, like, or a paper due, something. You know, the baby is screaming in the middle of the night, like, you know, shut him up.
Sarah-Daye McDougall: Like, I need to sleep, which I'm like.
Chris: As a college student, yeah, you do need to sleep.
Sarah-Daye McDougall: yeah so I'm like dude have some sympathy i like but have some empathy be human being like she's struggling on the other hand Like. the and the character makes the point in in the book and the show, like.
Sarah-Daye McDougall: my job is to be a college student and to do well on my exams and, you know. and to further myself in that way. And I can't do that with this obstacle of you having your screaming baby in the apartment. And so it's like.
Sarah-Daye McDougall: but again like that's real life that's a real life dynamic of a team Teen mom. you know, living with roommates is, you know. We're at different places. We're the same age and we're at very different places in our life. I am trying to feed my screaming child at 3 a .m.
Sarah-Daye McDougall: you have a midterm at eight. And like we are not the same. Not necessarily better or worse, but we're not the same.
Chris: And the way they basically move out without telling her and just kind of into like the last minute and ah they go about it really poorly. But that's just, you know, sometimes the way college students are there. They don't understand how to Um, go about this like an adult and that's why it's even you know shows the immaturity of some of these characters. that like yeah this this is what These are all the same age as she was when she was having this you know affair and everything. so It definitely shows that dynamic that is...
Chris: you know not Not a fully developed brain yet in any of these characters.
Sarah-Daye McDougall: No. not Not a fully developed frontal lobe to be found anywhere.
Chris: ye
Sarah-Daye McDougall: Um, Yeah, so those two. The two cats have moved out. suzy stays so now there's an extra room we love suzy suzy's the best she is a um
Chris: And we love Susie.
Sarah-Daye McDougall: cosplayer you know uber nerd she's going to cons and dressing up and she create she's also a content creator right through with with her cosplay um so she you know kind of understands the content creation stuff and, you know, getting getting that.
Sarah-Daye McDougall: uh visual value you know when you're filming things and so she you know goes from just kind of being There. to being you know margot's truest friend And really caring for her. And she builds a great bond with. Bodhi. She builds a great bottom of jinx. She is.
Sarah-Daye McDougall: Jinx super fan um
Chris: From before they met him and then, yeah.
Sarah-Daye McDougall: Yes.
Chris: He shows up in her apartment and she's already like. Like my hero is here
Sarah-Daye McDougall: What? Yes. Yeah. Well, i you yeah. And I think that's a change from. The book to the show. cause and In the book, she develops a strong bond with Jinx over time. But in the show, they have her.
Sarah-Daye McDougall: already knowing who he is and already being a fan.
Chris: I was in the book.
Sarah-Daye McDougall: Was it still? Okay, my bad.
Chris: It was in the book, yeah. she was ah She was a very big wrestling fan in the book, and then she jinxed...
Sarah-Daye McDougall: Okay.
Chris: um helps her, you know, develop, learn more about wrestling once he was there and they build that relationship. But she was a fan before he.
Sarah-Daye McDougall: Okay.
Chris: moved in so that was it was a thing in the book too they did it differently in the movie like actually in the air in the the show ah In the show, she doesn't have that fanboyness beforehand.
Chris: she learns about wrestling with him. But in the book, she was the super fan beforehand.
Sarah-Daye McDougall: Got you. Okay. Um, But I love their... the dynamic of the three of them, like her and Margot being. becoming very close friends and like helping each other with, you know. with the content creation for the OnlyFans. And then each of them having this, you know. paternal relationship with Jinx, you know, him actually being Margo's dad and him being a father figure for Susie.
Sarah-Daye McDougall: it's all It's all very, very sweet.
Chris: It does take a village sometimes.
Sarah-Daye McDougall: Mhm.
Chris: And, yeah, um that's where when he does relapse, it really hurts the all of us.
Sarah-Daye McDougall: Um...
Chris: We really see this pain that he causes to Susie. And to Margo. how it becomes. more than just and he realizes it too in the film is that you know i've hurt you guys and i'm i'm not at a place to be this person in your life yet but I want to get there, so I'm going to work on it.
Sarah-Daye McDougall: Yeah. yeah well and again like true representation. I wouldn't know, but what what felt like an authentic representation of somebody struggling. with drug addiction like he's not It was a work injury.
Sarah-Daye McDougall: He hurt his back.
Chris: Yeah.
Sarah-Daye McDougall: you know wrestling and the doctors prescribed him a medication and he just you know kept going and going and going with it where now he's shooting up heroin in the bathroom and you know
Chris: And he talks about, yeah, how that's how it started for him. It was never, a you know, I went out to get this on the side of the street and became a drug addict.
Sarah-Daye McDougall: Mhm.
Sarah-Daye McDougall: Right.
Chris: It was I needed the pills to. ah fix my back and then it I got addicted to the chemical. process of the stuff is addictive and probably he has you know probably other family elements or things like that that you know lead to being more prone to that but either way
Sarah-Daye McDougall: Yeah.
Sarah-Daye McDougall: Sure.
Chris: It's a lot of times how an addiction goes.
Sarah-Daye McDougall: Yeah.
Chris: You don't start out as a. I'm going to go try drugs. i'm going to What it is, is I'm going to... take what the doctor prescribes me and then I need more and need more.
Sarah-Daye McDougall: Yeah. and it It felt very... authentic like I said and it also you know He's not ever doing anything to purposely harm.
Sarah-Daye McDougall: Margo or Bodie or Susie. But the... his actions have consequences and your actions have an impact.
Chris: Mm -hmm.
Sarah-Daye McDougall: on the people around you and so like he was he would never you know And I... we truly believe it, you know, watching the show, he would never purposely do anything to put Bodhi in harm's way or to make things harder on Margo.
Sarah-Daye McDougall: But he when you're in addiction, you can't. you're not thinking clearly. and you can't separate yourself from the drug and so you know Things happen and you do end up harming the people closest to you just because that's the nature of.
Sarah-Daye McDougall: being addicted to serious stuff.
Chris: And that seemed to be it. I, uh... continuous plot throughout the show was people unintentionally hurting each other you know mom's actions, Kenny's actions.
Chris: ah Jinx's actions. everybody's just looking out for themselves looking out for what they think is right and it causes these this pain all around the but all across the board and so it's life it's figuring out how to work past that
Sarah-Daye McDougall: Yeah.
Sarah-Daye McDougall: Yeah. I want to... shift gears a little bit and kind of backtrack and talk about Cheyenne and Kenny. um Because they they're, I think they're.
Sarah-Daye McDougall: story and their characters get changed the most. um The two big things I'm thinking of are. who makes the cps call and also the whole episode of the show where we're in vegas
Sarah-Daye McDougall: doesn't happen in the book like Cheyenne and Margot get into a fight about Margot doing OnlyFans and Cheyenne tells her you're not invited to my wedding in Vegas anymore and so Margot has to stay home versus in the show they still fight about her doing OnlyFans but she lies and says she's not and they make up and she does go to Vegas and so Bodie. Baby Bo to you. Jinx, Margo are all in Vegas.
Sarah-Daye McDougall: with Cheyenne and they get this whole like family reunion scene where they're running around the strip and in bars. with with Bodhi.
Chris: behind Kenny's back on part of it.
Sarah-Daye McDougall: behind Kenny's back. Yeah. you know her her bachelorette night Cheyenne's bachelorette night her last night before she gets married to Kenny is spent in bars and casinos with her.
Sarah-Daye McDougall: baby daddy and daughter and grandson. hanging out and hiding because she still, you know, has never and probably will never admit to Kenny that she. is a prolific gambler and drinks alcohol and like does all these things.
Chris: And unfortunately, like I said, that's just the persona she has she's presenting, the lies she's telling herself in order to get what she thinks she needs in life. All right. I think that's another plot point that could could be explored further beyond the book and show to maybe see that. relation where that relationship goes after all the...
Chris: explosion at the end of, you know. Kenny calling CPS and thinking he was doing what was right. and the way she kind of... Ices him out after that for a bit.
Chris: um I'd like to see where that's going to go in the season two.
Sarah-Daye McDougall: Yeah, well, and that's that's the big difference between the book is in the book. It's Cheyenne who calls CPS on Margo.
Chris: At Kenny's insistence, yeah, they they they to make that decision together, and they basically, because of their place in the church, and they you know they feel like this was the right thing to do.
Sarah-Daye McDougall: She... Yes.
Sarah-Daye McDougall: Yes. Yes. because of their place in the church. ah Cheyenne also you know has the same reaction as Jinx to finding out that Margot does OnlyFans, but instead of saying, you know what, I'm your parent, I love you, I'm gonna...
Sarah-Daye McDougall: but you know let's figure this out together let me help you it's you know
Chris: she tries to Take control.
Sarah-Daye McDougall: She, she... kind of veers into Kenny more. And it's like, this is wrong this is bad we you know this you shouldn't be doing this and so she you know call cps and reports, Margo, you know. as an unfit mother which is exactly what mark is taking her to court for for custody of bodie is that she's an unfit mother um But changing that. in the show We kind of talked about last week. It makes Cheyenne a lot.
Sarah-Daye McDougall: Even with all of her flaws and imperfections, it makes her a lot easier. to kind of swallow. um when she doesn't do that and it makes you know putting that on kenny makes sense Kenny, like...
Sarah-Daye McDougall: kenny's very interesting to me like as a christian because in the book i was like this is what non -christians think christians are like like it didn't feel authentic to me or at least not to the the people i know who call themselves christians or and go to church and stuff But like, I know there are definitely people like him. Like that's, you know. That is real life for. for a lot of people.
Sarah-Daye McDougall: But. like having Him. be the one in the show. to call felt more natural to me. And we talked about this too, like... As a mother, I could never.
Sarah-Daye McDougall: Like sometimes it it can be the right thing, but I couldn't imagine a mom like. calling CPS on her own kid. But I could very much imagine Kenny doing it. and so with the other character changes between them. like This.
Sarah-Daye McDougall: It felt more. Hit the interpretation of Kenny like as a Christian. felt more authentic in the show. And also like him being the one called CPS felt more authentic. it It felt more like something that he, that that character would do, even in the like.
Sarah-Daye McDougall: quote -unquote better version of him that the show gave us it still felt more appropriate for him to be the one to do that than for Cheyenne and like you said it sets up a really great conflict but for them. in season two where margot now has her thing with jb and like figuring out you know, how to be her true self with him and talk about her real life. and who she is.
Sarah-Daye McDougall: and also you know again her mom having to kind of go through that same struggle of telling kenny who really is Cheyenne and what is. what does Cheyenne really like?
Sarah-Daye McDougall: And, you know, navigating that conflict of like you called CPS on my kid.
Chris: And, I mean, that kind of betrayal can be... really hard to forgive for sure if you're on uh On Margo's part, on Cheyenne's part, I mean, that's ah that's a huge, especially since there was nothing actually. wrong with uh you know she was taking care of uh bode and that's ah He was not in danger.
Chris: It can be really hard to forgive that sort of thing. I don't think that the, it i think I think the Christian part was put in there too. Be the, ah you know. She was. pretending to be this in order to get The.
Chris: you know, money and stuff that he she needed from him. I don't know that that was the point of any of it anyways. I think that he could have been anybody that they were. Protecting. a you know stepdaughter at that point and thought this was the right thing um to do because there is a stigma around this kind of that kind of work so I think that it would.
Chris: any sort of busy body and he kind of felt you know very southern very you know he you know things like that that can you know also lead into more traditional Um, mindsets And so.
Chris: I don't think that the Christian part of it was so much the point, but it definitely gave it more of that self -righteousness that sometimes gets presented in those situations.
Sarah-Daye McDougall: Yeah, I think it gave him more of a... I think Rufy Thorpe, the author, wanted a character to be... That. And using his religion, like gave her like a more concrete reason of why he is the way he is instead of just being like, well, this is just kind of how I grew up. And this is just why I I'm just like this, you know, like. having him have a reason why he's like that you know
Chris: Mm hmm.
Sarah-Daye McDougall: makes more sense it doesn't leave as much of like a like a plot hole you know
Chris: I'd like for him to be a more complex character in the next season. Maybe he's got more flaws that we'll actually see, too. Maybe, you know, they'll actually dig into Cheyenne's different person.
Sarah-Daye McDougall: Mm -hmm.
Chris: But, you know, he could be a different person, too, that we he's been putting on this face, too. He might have. you know severe debts as well that he didn't tell her about and that might lead to uh cheyenne being like oh well this is not what i thought i was getting into and then both happened to learn to actually live life together and not just you know fight over erga
Sarah-Daye McDougall: Right.
Sarah-Daye McDougall: Yeah.
Chris: or not just try to. manipulate each other.
Sarah-Daye McDougall: Yeah, I definitely would like to see more of Kenny's inner workings but like I said I like the show version better because I did feel like he was more complex than book version like when
Chris: A little bit more, yeah.
Sarah-Daye McDougall: becca So Becca is Margo's friend from high school. who they were We were supposed to go to NYU together, and now you've, like, gone and ruined your life. Like, she's just a terrible friend, terrible person. she participates in the doxing of Margot. So for those. not.
Sarah-Daye McDougall: in tune with internet slang doxing is when somebody who is anonymous online. their true identity is revealed so in this case like you know, it becomes known that Margot Millett is the hungry ghost on OnlyFans. And so you've seen. you know, cause her.
Sarah-Daye McDougall: ah she posts some hungry ghost content on TikTok and it goes viral. So now millions of people have seen the hungry ghost persona. And now that is being directly linked to her personal Instagram page and her personal Facebook account where people can see, oh, this is her name. She lives in Fullerton, California. This is who she is. And this is what she does. And you can link those together. And it's, you know.
Sarah-Daye McDougall: It's scary.
Chris: Very dangerous, yeah.
Sarah-Daye McDougall: It's, you know, it's very dangerous. It's very scary. Very, you know. it's not safe and it's honestly like an evil if you intentionally do that to somebody I feel like that's a very evil thing to do um So.
Sarah-Daye McDougall: But when that happens, Kenny. is like relatively supportive he's a lot more supportive in the show than he was in the book where he's like You're part of this. You're part of my family. I'm going to protect you. We're going to figure this out together. And I really loved that change specifically. Um, Because like I said, it it did give him more depth and more nuance. And, you know, you can be.
Sarah-Daye McDougall: There's more to, you know. Yes, as and as a you know the uber -Christian he's portrayed to be. yeah there's gonna be some concern, some judgment, whatever, you know.
Sarah-Daye McDougall: word you want to use about her doing OnlyFans in the first place, but... there's also going to be that you know forgiveness and you're part of the family. and i'm with you i'm going to walk with you through this hardship instead of Good luck! You're on your own, you know, which is more of his attitude in the book, I i felt.
Chris: And I mean... You know, the missing part was them offering a concrete you know solution for her to not have to do that for money if they had said, hey. we can, you know, support you or we can, you know, figure out this new job for you.
Chris: Then we can do childcare or we can find somebody at the church to do it. You know, if they'd offered something more to her, then yeah, maybe she would have taken that advice and been, okay, let's do this. Let's, let's get me off of this.
Sarah-Daye McDougall: Mm -hmm.
Chris: But she, you know, you can make really good money on OnlyFans doing things the way she was doing it.
Sarah-Daye McDougall: Yeah.
Chris: And it lets her, right, it let her be creative. and So by the end, when that starts happening, she really enjoys this. She's you know figured out how to turn this into. Her career, her way to. um really get ahead in life. And she was looking for, you know, looking out for Bodie's future. And so.
Chris: It was...
Sarah-Daye McDougall: Yeah, it
Chris: yeah
Sarah-Daye McDougall: it started as something that she was doing out of desperation because she felt like she had no other choice and then like you said because she was able to be creative and you know kind of have fun with it and again it's Much safer than like.
Sarah-Daye McDougall: quote -unquote actual sex work going out like I said you know and meeting up with people and actually like you know putting your body out there And so.
Chris: Apparently safer than going to college.
Sarah-Daye McDougall: Right.
Chris: There's those professors out there.
Sarah-Daye McDougall: There's no professors to prey on you. You know, and so like. You can do it from the comfort of your own home. And so like. And like you said, you can make a ton of money. And so. you know.
Sarah-Daye McDougall: It started out as being. an act of desperation and by the end like you said she's kind of into it it's kind of fun and she likes it she's creative she's safe she's
Chris: She has friends. She has, yeah.
Sarah-Daye McDougall: She makes friends. She finds community. And she's able to provide for her child, which at the end of the day is her. primary goal.
Chris: go
Sarah-Daye McDougall: And so. you know yeah why why would she stop if especially and then you know Mark and his... his mother do start pursuing.
Sarah-Daye McDougall: custody after she gets doxxed. and it becomes public that she does OnlyFans. He you know they Try suing her for custody of Bodhi.
Sarah-Daye McDougall: And so her lawyers are like, don't quit because that is, you know, giving the impression that you know or feel that there's something wrong.
Chris: Also see this there.
Sarah-Daye McDougall: with it. like You got to keep going. you know to keep up appearances that, no, this is this is what I do. This is good. This is safe. It's fine. like you know just keep everything normal.
Chris: One thing I loved was the um when they had – I think this was changed up a bit for the ah the TV, and that's – one thing i was sad about but the way that when cps and the different uh inspections come through her you know they see her interacting with the with bodie with interacting with you know how her life is and they don't see anything wrong they see that she is a caring mother who is doing her best to take care of her child she's using the right cream she's using the right you know she's ah
Chris: attentive to her child she he has a support system around him he has the friends the family the and They see all the good. And. um In the book, there was the one that came. I think it was the one that came from. ah One of them was also pregnant and she's given her advice on how. to actually handle the baby this woman that should be Pretty familiar with it as she has to do a diaper change with all of her inspections, but she's struggling with this blowout that she's. ah
Chris: have to deal with and margo's trying to you know help her through this and she's a you know pregnant Uh, expecting mother and she's like you know i'm really you know hoping. uh for the best for you i want to help you out here and you know um But you're, you're trying, you're the person that's trying, and you know, helping with this, ah you know.
Chris: uh, attack against me right now even though it's not her fault but she has this real internal conflict of I want to be here for this person because I have been there, whereas she is right now struggling with this thing.
Sarah-Daye McDougall: Yeah. Hey. the various Like. government and like court officials who come and do like home visits and stuff like the of course they get a lot more characterization in the book than the show like the The CPS visit specifically, you know, where they are very threatening. They're like, you know, if you don't let us in, we're definitely going to take him. um you know, they become a little bit more caricature.
Sarah-Daye McDougall: of like Again, what people think those agents. are like versus you know showing like you said They're still humans. And like, yeah, I'm.
Sarah-Daye McDougall: a cps agent i have to investigate and make sure that You're providing a safe, stable home for your child. But I also am pregnant with my first and like I need help figuring out how to change a diaper because I haven't actually had to do it before. And so, you know. showing that.
Sarah-Daye McDougall: camaraderie between women, even in a position where they're set up. to be against each other you know is really nice.
Sarah-Daye McDougall: So the other main, well, I guess the the final main thing that has changed between the book and the show is the show gives us this whole. court sequence where we're actually in court, we're in front of a judge, we're talking about bode the judge asks Margo.
Sarah-Daye McDougall: take the baby, give the baby to grandma, grandpa. Susie. Like. To the village. give the baby to the village and he sees the baby you know happily be passed around to all these people who have been with him and cared for him and loved him.
Sarah-Daye McDougall: And then he said, okay, give the baby to his father. And then immediately Bodhi is like. This is a stranger. I don't know this guy. He starts crying. um And like we never get that.
Sarah-Daye McDougall: Court scene in the book. And I. understand why like They'd never. you know they got the report that everything was good and so That was the end of it. Like, she's a fit mother. we're done. Like you guys, we can work out a custody thing, but. That's the end of it.
Sarah-Daye McDougall: which is like kind of anticlimactic i guess um and so they wanted to i think they wanted to have a big like this finale moment of, you know. vindication for Margo and her team and, you know. a final screw you to Mark and his team, which.
Sarah-Daye McDougall: Absolutely. um and again with
Chris: Give Nicole Kidman a little more screen time too. and you know you The whole scene to me felt like you know the biblical Solomon case of cut the baby in half and you know in order to see who actually cares about the child.
Sarah-Daye McDougall: Yeah, why not?
Sarah-Daye McDougall: Yeah. Yeah. well and you could prove it because again like Mark is a stranger. To this baby, like even throughout this process, like it was determined that, you know, while they figure things out, that Bodie would be able to stay with Margo. She's still breastfeeding like he's still very young.
Sarah-Daye McDougall: he's only known her and her family. um And so like. yeah he has rights as Bodhi's dad but also like he's not Bodhi's dad he hasn't been there for Bodhi
Chris: Yeah.
Sarah-Daye McDougall: throughout his year of life.
Chris: And the judge had a little bit of bias, it felt like, of like, you know, the... father the father should know his kids seem like it came from a you know and a place of personal Um, Conflict for him I think in the show But either way, you know he was right.
Chris: you know know He should know his father.
Sarah-Daye McDougall: Yeah.
Chris: And Margo was fine with that.
Sarah-Daye McDougall: Yeah.
Chris: She's like, I never wanted to keep him from his father. I was just trying to keep him alive.
Sarah-Daye McDougall: Yeah. Yeah.
Chris: So.
Sarah-Daye McDougall: Well, and that that point about, you know... um kids should know their fathers. like the They mention that in the book and the show that he... the judge just went through divorce and custody proceedings himself and so And Margo's lawyer, who we talked about last week, gets gender swapped. And now Nicole Kidman is playing the lawyer, which is fine.
Sarah-Daye McDougall: um But she's...
Chris: That's wonderful.
Sarah-Daye McDougall: Yeah. But she's saying like, you know, he might be biased in favor of the dad because he feels like he just got screwed over in his. custody battle.
Sarah-Daye McDougall: which to the judge's credit is not what happens. Like he does still, he. absolutely is team Margo. He determines that she's a fit mother.
Chris: impartially hears it.
Sarah-Daye McDougall: He needs to, the baby needs to stay with her. That's, that's his true home. But also, like you said. You know. yeah, let's give dad the opportunity to be a dad. And like, you know, he needs to have the opportunity to be around the kid and just get to know him and the kid, you know, like you said, and I don't necessarily disagree.
Sarah-Daye McDougall: I hate Mark, but I don't necessarily disagree with the premise that you know he should have the ability to get to know. his care because
Chris: The chant, at least, yeah.
Sarah-Daye McDougall: He hasn't like Other than the initial, like... sin of sleeping with his student. Which is a big thing. He hasn't actually like done anything.
Sarah-Daye McDougall: Wrong. To Margo, like he... He has valid concerns, right? like Once we get past the fact that he is a grown -ass man with a wife and kids who slept with his 19 -year -old student.
Sarah-Daye McDougall: He has valid concerns. She's a teen mom. She doesn't have a job. She doesn't have a degree to get a job, which is also his fault. but like And she does OnlyFans, which is stigmatized. Yeah.
Sarah-Daye McDougall: All of that. He has valid concerns. He goes about them in the most horrendous way, which I think is mostly his mother's influence, which is still a problem because grow up. Be a man.
Chris: And I think most of his sin was just not. thinking for himself and trying to go learn about this you know about margo where margo's at he just listened to what everybody else was saying to him and what his mom was telling him and all the research their lawyer did or whatever he didn't ever
Sarah-Daye McDougall: Yep.
Chris: approach her and say, hey. I want to understand, are you how are you taking care of our our child here?
Sarah-Daye McDougall: Mm hmm.
Chris: you know he never he He came to mediation ready to fight, not ready to learn and listen and try to actually find a middle ground.
Sarah-Daye McDougall: Yeah. Yes. All of that, but... He didn't... Like. do anything harmful. In that way. Uh.
Chris: No, he's he's worthy of forgiveness at least in this case because he was just, you know, not.
Sarah-Daye McDougall: Yep. Yes.
Chris: actively participating. He was just letting life happen. And. and
Sarah-Daye McDougall: Yes.
Chris: Not that was his biggest sin was just letting others tell him what needs to happen and not Thinking about Margot, and thinking about his child. Because that really, if he had done that, it would have.
Sarah-Daye McDougall: Yeah.
Chris: Solved a lot of this. Much more easily.
Sarah-Daye McDougall: Yeah. Thank you for understanding what I was trying to say because I could not get it out.
Chris: it's okay
Sarah-Daye McDougall: um Okay. And then the final thing, you know, she she wins custody. And in the book, again, the whole JB storyline gets cut out.
Sarah-Daye McDougall: But in the in the book... gb is there and exists and they've met and he has a business proposition to you know to grow her OnlyFans and make it a bigger thing. and you know And that. gets cut.
Sarah-Daye McDougall: because he doesn't exist yet.
Chris: And his idea was basically for them to become, you know, writers and producers for other people and consultants to help people. And it seemed like a really cool concept for that. If you're willing, you know, it's it's a space that doesn't have a lot of that because of the taboo nature of it.
Sarah-Daye McDougall: a
Chris: and so to help people. get a bit and do their the business side of it and the writing side of it better was a really cool cool cool concept that they come up with and so i was like that's part of why i really wanted to see that show up because it's it's actually a really interesting thought so i really i mean we'll we'll probably talk about it next year whenever the next season comes out more when we get to compare that part with
Sarah-Daye McDougall: Yeah.
Sarah-Daye McDougall: Yeah.
Chris: um this book still because there's no other book to follow so it'll be comparing this book again but uh and i'm i'm here for it i'm i'm definitely gonna watch it i'm definitely gonna probably do another reread at that point and uh
Sarah-Daye McDougall: Yeah. Yeah. Yeah.
Chris: I'm interested to see how it goes.
Sarah-Daye McDougall: Yeah. um Do you have anything that we didn't mention that you want to bring up?
Chris: The... Hungry. Alien or whatever the hungry ghost alien was really creepy and I did not like the visualization of that one It was better as a concept in my head
Sarah-Daye McDougall: Okay. period
Chris: The version she did, that's just an aside that i I wanted to mention, that you know her actual visualization of it was weird.
Sarah-Daye McDougall: Yeah, that's fair
Chris: The way the show did it. but That's just my perspective on that. That's the only thing I had was weird alien.
Sarah-Daye McDougall: Okay.
Chris: Gonna scare your child.
Sarah-Daye McDougall: Well, that's why Bodhi's always in the other room.
Chris: Or an apple.
Sarah-Daye McDougall: but
Chris: Yeah, that's why.
Sarah-Daye McDougall: All right, well. Yep, that's definitely that's the one and only reason why. but
Chris: No, I think we got a good coverage of the whole thing. I mean, it's ah there's definitely more to it, but that was the make the big things that happened. the comparison. So I think we've covered everything well.
Chris: Write in if we missed anything big, let us know what we missed.
Sarah-Daye McDougall: Yep.
Chris: We will apologize profusely, but, and try to remedy it next time.
Sarah-Daye McDougall: Yeah. We'll try and do better next time. Sorry, listeners.
Chris: No, we're good. We're not actually going to go back and. do anything better we're gonna do it our way so you know write it anyways and tell us how we did
Sarah-Daye McDougall: No. No, I'm not we're gonna move on Yeah, just write in any way so that I can ignore you. ah
Chris: Tell Sarah Day that she should have been here to keep us on track.
Sarah-Daye McDougall: Yeah. That one you can actually do. Alright.
Chris: We love you, Sarah Day.
Sarah-Daye McDougall: We do. All right, guys. Well, ah tune in next week for our next episode. What even are we covering next week?
Chris: What are we doing?
Sarah-Daye McDougall: Uh...
Chris: I guess we'll find out
Sarah-Daye McDougall: Next week is supposed to... Be. Ooh, Prince Caspian. We're continuing our Narnia coverage.
Chris: o
Sarah-Daye McDougall: um to review and get ready for the new show that's dropping January. Right on Netflix.
Chris: January.
Sarah-Daye McDougall: or it's a film.
Chris: Yeah.
Sarah-Daye McDougall: It's a show.
Chris: movie Yeah, a Netflix movie.
Sarah-Daye McDougall: Maybe. Netflix movie. ah Yeah, so I think that one is probably just going to keep to one episode. just um Just so we can keep trucking along but voyage of the dawn no Prince Caspian Very exciting. Ben Barnes.
Chris: movie
Sarah-Daye McDougall: Okay, anyways.
Chris: Alright.
Sarah-Daye McDougall: Tune in next week for that and we will see you around. Watch some books.
Chris: like guys
