Just over a year ago, I wrote a post for the Naughty Ninjas about Married At First Sight, season 1 (here). I was intrigued by the premise of the show (people paired by 'experts' and then putting them through the rigors of a wedding, reception, honeymoon, and living together), but I wrote that post retrospectively.
So this is Season 3, and I thought I'd try to do it as it happens and give my thoughts first up - because I was very wrong last time! And I like to torment myself and see if I learned anything from watching season 1.
We met two couples tonight - Keller, 26, and Nicole, 28. And Monica, 28, and Mark, 30. These are my notes from what the experts said, and my impressions:
Keller and Nicole
He's tattooed, ex-Navy (has only been out 3 months; finds transitioning difficult; had trauma with refugee contacts), sweet and compassionate, family-oriented with 4 siblings plus a bunch of foster siblings. He's a boys boy. He's quite optimistic about the experiment.
She's a primary school teacher and loves kids. She's warm, bubbly, giggly. Grew up in the country (Junee). She has a big bouquet of open roses, which looks gorgeous. She didn't really freak out or go over the top for the wedding. Her dad's had a leg amputated and he's at the wedding and this means a lot to her.
The experts said they both have a share vision for family, with strong commitments to family. They feared that Nicole is highly influenced by others' opinions and they worried about Keller's tattoos and how others saw them.
My observations and guesses:
Monica and Mark
He's relaxed, outdoorsy, an exerciser, bad surfer but he loves it, fireman. He's a bit goofy, loves comic books and is a gamer.
She's a perfectionist, goal-oriented, focussed and determined, she doesn't let men in easily. Her father died when she was quite young. She's a control freak. She comes to the wedding in a Kombi van. She has a bouquet of wattle, and greenery and white (can't quite remember - but it was different). She didn't really freak out or go over the top either.
The experts say they're hoping that he'll bring fun to her seriousness. That they were both into each others' looks and smell. They fear the perfectionist because a perfectionist always causes issues with their uncompromising attitudes.
My observations and guesses:
And those are my impressions from tonight. There are 3 more couples tomorrow, so I'll see what they bring!
Please note: my predictions were so bad last time, these will probably be the same. But I find this an interesting exercise for working with characters in stories - what makes characters work? And I always shy away from opposite characters, so I'm hoping this will give me more skills to bring opposites together.
So this is Season 3, and I thought I'd try to do it as it happens and give my thoughts first up - because I was very wrong last time! And I like to torment myself and see if I learned anything from watching season 1.
We met two couples tonight - Keller, 26, and Nicole, 28. And Monica, 28, and Mark, 30. These are my notes from what the experts said, and my impressions:
Keller and Nicole
He's tattooed, ex-Navy (has only been out 3 months; finds transitioning difficult; had trauma with refugee contacts), sweet and compassionate, family-oriented with 4 siblings plus a bunch of foster siblings. He's a boys boy. He's quite optimistic about the experiment.
She's a primary school teacher and loves kids. She's warm, bubbly, giggly. Grew up in the country (Junee). She has a big bouquet of open roses, which looks gorgeous. She didn't really freak out or go over the top for the wedding. Her dad's had a leg amputated and he's at the wedding and this means a lot to her.
The experts said they both have a share vision for family, with strong commitments to family. They feared that Nicole is highly influenced by others' opinions and they worried about Keller's tattoos and how others saw them.
My observations and guesses:
- They both had the same reaction pre-wedding, "Oh shit."
- he's immediately happy seeing her, and she was okay until the tattoos freaked her.
- he holds her hand, which centres her completely and immediately
- he's written gorgeous vows that are fun too, and this wins her over
- he's really looking after her in the photos, which means she relaxes more and more with him
- he makes a huge effort to win over her folks (we don't see his folks, even though his family are important to him, which was weird)
- I'm wondering if he's really as sweet and gorgeous as he's portrayed. And if he is, will she believe this of him?
- I'm also wondering how fucked up he is by what he's had to do in the navy. He's already said transitioning is difficult and he has issues, it seems going into something like this just adds to his stress, and I wonder how that will manifest
- They seem kind of into each other, but she has some hesitance and I wonder if it's the tatts. He also seems to be at odds with them - he's made a big deal out of saying how much he worries about what people think of him because of his tattoos, so why does he have them? Is it some kind of outer covering to hide behind?
- I'm not entirely sure about these guys because there's hesitance and it's so early; but hopefully they'll be kind to each other because they seem to be kind and gentle people.
Monica and Mark
He's relaxed, outdoorsy, an exerciser, bad surfer but he loves it, fireman. He's a bit goofy, loves comic books and is a gamer.
She's a perfectionist, goal-oriented, focussed and determined, she doesn't let men in easily. Her father died when she was quite young. She's a control freak. She comes to the wedding in a Kombi van. She has a bouquet of wattle, and greenery and white (can't quite remember - but it was different). She didn't really freak out or go over the top either.
The experts say they're hoping that he'll bring fun to her seriousness. That they were both into each others' looks and smell. They fear the perfectionist because a perfectionist always causes issues with their uncompromising attitudes.
My observations and guesses:
- he's happy when he sees her (says he's punching above his weight) and she's pretty stoked too.
- they immediately introduce themselves and chat - too bad about the celebrant! (others are usually formal and stiff)
- they have lots of eye contact, lots of immediately attraction.
- they look good together.
- there's lots of talking and laughing
- they're talking a lot - about each other, and their emotions re the day
- she has a bridesmaid who's kind of OCD about knowing everything and she's almost directing their chats, but the bride is quite hesitant to give her a lot of information. This friend could be quite persuasive I think, but at the moment seems to like Mark and be okay about the deal. Not sure this will last.
- he seems a guy who's a bit caught up in his appearance, and maybe hers. This didn't work so well with a similar couple last season (but I missed so many episodes, I don't know what they were really like).
- I'm intrigued by this couple because superficially they look good, but I wonder how they'll go getting to know each other more. They're talking a lot, which is a good sign, but I wonder how deep they'll go.
- I wonder how she'll cope with his gamer side. She seems far too serious to tolerate games, but maybe I don't know her enough yet to make that call
- they share a similar sense of humour
- This will be interesting. I can see this one working well, or failing miserably.
And those are my impressions from tonight. There are 3 more couples tomorrow, so I'll see what they bring!
Please note: my predictions were so bad last time, these will probably be the same. But I find this an interesting exercise for working with characters in stories - what makes characters work? And I always shy away from opposite characters, so I'm hoping this will give me more skills to bring opposites together.
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