Summary of The Ultimatum Season 2 Episodes 4-6

The ultimatum: get married or move on

Episodes 4–6: “Catching Feelings” / “Are You The One” / “The Changeover”

season 2

Episode 4

Editor’s Rating

4 stars

****

Photo: Courtesy of NETFLIX

I still miss Lisa but boy oh boy did Roxanne take the torch The ultimatum season two. Let’s break it down.

Now, I know we’re not here to diagnose online that people’s friends have personality disorders anymore, but I think Kat would take a lot away from Narcissism TikTok. So far, neither Roxanne nor Antonio have been able to open their eyes to the truth that Alex is a walking r/AITA contributor – the kind that’s gone viral on Twitter and featured on podcasts. At girls’ night out, Roxanne actually takes Kat aside and tries to get her attention to all the flashing “danger” signs coming from her husband-to-be, but all Kat takes away from the conversation is that Roxanne is upset that Alex doesn’t open car doors for them. No, baby, it’s not about the doors. It’s the fact that Alex openly lies about silly things like opening car doors when in fact he hasn’t complied with that one, very simple request at all.

Antonio may be cripplingly jealous of Alex, who has the “rise and grind” mindset that Roxanne, Successful Entrepreneur™ claims to want, but he also knows a bugger when he sees one. When Alex starts complaining about “holding Roxanne accountable” at boys’ night, Antonio doesn’t hesitate with a sequel. What do you mean by that, Alex? For example, Alex says he finds Roxanne overly emotional in her business emails. Antonio without batting an eyelid: “Have you read her work email?” Get it.

Roxanne and Alex, two adults whom I was able to wear bracelets that read “Hustle” on a diplomatic visit to the Western Wall, seem perfect for each other. But Roxanne doesn’t really want a boy boss with a bill-tracking chart where his heart should be. She wants an Antonio who is openly financially insecure and fiercely loyal. Antonio, of course, shared all his findings on “that bastard” Alex with Roxanne in a yelling phone call while Kat bleated in the background, “Don’t call him a bastard!”

When Roxanne confronts Alex, it becomes completely clear why he was dating Kat. The main problem Roxanne sees in this argument is that Alex told Antonio that she doesn’t respect him. In fairness, of all the lies Alex has told, this is the least of lies, but that doesn’t mean it doesn’t suck to say something. Alex says he was trying to babysit Antonio but I think he was just trying to mock him. Anyway, Roxanne tries to explain why she’s upset and is visibly taken aback by Alex’s reaction. He’s dismissive. He mocks her. he is cruel He literally sends her crying back to Antonio in the middle of the night. Alex doesn’t want Roxanne, he wants Kat, who seems to have taken so much bad treatment from him that she’s convinced herself it’s normal. This is not normal, Kat! Get out of here please!

However, we still don’t know exactly what the inside of Alex and Kat’s relationship looks like. And there clearly are some Limits on the amount of man shit she is willing to absorb. Listening in silence to Antonio whine endlessly about his own life? Sure, boss. She’s gonna do that shit all day. Not confronting Antonio because he threw a tantrum and then disappeared without a word? No father, Bob.

Before things get any darker, let’s take a look at our other two couples, shall we? I call them Tryann and Rames. I really thought something was brewing at Casa Rames when I saw this whole elaborate seduction moment that James had prepared for Riah. Rose petals and candles by the pool? I mean come on At! However, through this whole ultimatum, James has blasted the fear of God completely, and his intimate advances towards Riah evaporate as quickly as they surfaced. Days later, she wants to know why he doesn’t want to hold her hand anymore and why he suddenly shies away from physical affection. “I hugged you like that yesterday!” he protests. “It was a side hug,” she emphasizes. This leads to some confusion as to whether Riah wants James to fuck her because James is missing the point on purpose. Riah doesn’t necessarily need sex (although I doubt she would say no). What she wants are the little intimate touches spouses naturally expect from each other, but those are exactly the intimate touches James reserved for Ryann — who he’s suddenly realized is the love of his life. Riah feels a little betrayed by all of this, which is perfectly fair, but it’s hard to be mad at James for staying loyal.

In contrast, the house of Tryann is almost progressing to So. Just three weeks later, Trey has already developed deep feelings for Ryann – something James probably should have considered more seriously when he admitted the whole thing. After witnessing the arguments at their respective girls’ and boys’ nights out, Trey and Ryann realize that they are by far the strongest of the new couples. The night before they are due to return to their original partners, Ryann presents Trey with two gifts. The first is a gag: a pair of inflatable boxing gloves so they can finally get through their first “fight” since they’ve never fought before. The second, real gift is a photo album for all the pictures they shared, which they stuck all over the fridge and kitchen cupboards.

James, you really screwed it up. He believes the biggest problem in his and Ryann’s relationship is that he couldn’t tell her about trauma from his past. He should definitely do this at some point (preferably off-camera), but Trey has to explain that this isn’t the real issue in their relationship. The real problem is that Ryann feels like James is taking her for granted, which, given where he is at the moment, is demonstrably true.

I really doubt this little experiment would be condoned by any psychologist, psychiatrist, therapist or sociologist, but it seems to have had some effect. After their trial marriage, James is ready to get on his knees, while Riah is unsure about moving on with Trey, knowing he has feelings for someone else. But as for Kat, I’m a little concerned that she didn’t pay enough attention to how Alex came across to everyone else.