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It's insane to me that Nola and Will's complicity is just given a pass. It's one thing to open up their home as a sanctuary to a person in need, but they know full well that Kyle has ulterior motives. Not only that, they don't even really believe in the whole curse thing in the first place. So, from their perspective, they are just holding this teenage girl against her will at the whim of their spoiled boss' son until she expresses her love for him. That's deranged. Shouldn't there at least be a discussion of, "Yes, she's in danger, but maybe the cops are better equipped to offer her protection?" They don't even have a stake in it! It's not like in the cartoon where they are under the curse too. Heck, they don't even know that they might get anything out of it. They just know that this troubled girl has been dropped off on their doorstep - who explicitly tells them that she doesn't want to be there - and they are just like, "Yeah, we know you're being held against your will, and you're miserable, but have you checked out Hunter's abs recently?"

I think Kyle doesn't help his father. Not out of spite or revenge, but because, as you said, I think his father is unlikely to come to the same self-realization if he's having his hand held. I think the whole point of the curse is to look within yourself, face your faults, and find your own way to fix them. I suppose he could help set up situations in which self-realization or actualization can occur - the same way Kyle had a couple people who helped him out with the girl (whose name I can never remember, nor care to). I don't think anyone can truly achieve self-actualization or make any real, lasting change while having their hand held or receiving tons of assistance. That defeats the purpose, and is maybe why I never believed Kyle actually changed.

They really make a meal of that poem, huh? I would really love to get my hands on NPH’s syllabus. Apparently his lesson plan was: assign a single poem (of the student’s choosing), provide zero instruction or guided discussion, leave your students to perpetually re-read the same poem over the course of - what appears to be - months so they can make goo-goo eyes at each other. There will be no other classes.

I completely agree with you, and this is another thing that handled better in the novel. In the book, Kyle caught Lindy’s dad breaking into the mansion and the greenhouse and, like the original versions of the story, makes him pay back him back by giving up his daughter. But more importantly, Kyle actually cares about Lindy at this point because he’s been watching her through a magic mirror Kendra gave him. So he has already learned about what she likes and how she spends her time. (Again we all know kidnapping, stalking, and voyuerism is problematic.) When it comes to Will and the housekeeper (her name is Magda in the book) they’re okay with it because at this point there’s already been significant change to how he was before. I think Lindy came to stay with him one year into a two year curse, so that’s a whole year he’s had to become a better person. The housekeeper is fine with it because we find out later she’s Kendra in disguise, trying to guide Kyle in the right direction. And Will is aware of the curse, and while he probably doesn’t believe it, he can clearly tell how depressed and hopeless Kyle has gotten and how excited the prospect of Lindy coming has made him. So really the only adult who would have an issue with it most likely went along with it to help Kyle out, as he was already grown as a person. And like they would’ve heard Kyle mention Lindy by now. They knew he never had nefarious motvies.

100% All this guy ever did was for himself and to get his dashing good looks (was he that attractive?) back. None of his gifts or his wooing was about making her happy. Even with all Kyle's stalking he didn't take the time to get to know her and only talked about himself and how ugly he must seem to everyone. Even after she said "I love you" to him, I felt just this creepy sense that he only tricked her into it and I never got the feeling he had any genuine, non-stalkery-y feelings for this girl. She was a conquest, a goal. I did not like the dynamics of the stalking, the kidnapping, the lying, and this is supposed to be romance? Pass.

Here’s a bit of an ethical dilemma I would like to throw out to the group. At the end of the movie it is heavily implied that Kyle’s father is going to be cursed by Kendra as punishment for his own vanity and shallow behavior. My question is: does Kyle help him through the curse? And, if so, should he? Kyle was exiled and abandoned by his father, so it seems a little bit unfair that Kyle’s father might receive the kind of unconditional love and support he himself was denied. Besides, it was at least partly due to the isolation imposed on him that helped him achieve self-actualization. Can Kyle’s father even realize that same level of personal growth and self-reflection if his son is there holding his hand through his own trial? That being said, if Kyle ignores the curse placed on his father and leaves him to suffer as he did - even if his father “deserves it” - has he actually learned anything? If the point of the curse is to teach Kyle to be less vain and selfless - and not just score himself a girlfriend - shouldn’t he forgive his father and be there for him? I don’t know. To me, it seems fucked up that his father might not have to suffer to the same degree as his son when it’s clear that it’s primarily his fault that Kyle was the way he was in the first place.

I love this show so damn much.

For May: IT'S BEEN APRIL

We better get an album of the songs on this seasons shows!