MovieChat Forums > Rhoda (1974) Discussion > Starting S 03 and this is what I think ...

Starting S 03 and this is what I think went wrong w/Rhoda's marriage

posted 11 years ago by shanehaynes
6 replies | jump to latest

1) Her family was around too much. I don't recall seeing ANYONE from Joe's family other than Donny and the ex-wife yet Rhoda's ENTIRE family was always around. To include Brenda who lived right downstairs from them.

2)Joe could never get a word in edgewise when communicating w/Rhoda. She just WOULD NOT let this man express himself w/o her jumping to conclusions

3) Rhoda was too clingy and insecure. I can see it being "cute" at first but after a while I'd think it would become a major turn-off.

4) Perhaps it was DUE to the aforementioned insecurity but Rhoda always acted like she had hit some "jackpot" and Joe was too good for her. It's like she felt lucky to have him and let him know this......constantly. Again, a turn off I'd think.

JMO

[–] leybell 8 years ago

Yep. A warning to other clingy Rhoda types. At least the writers didn't have to kill him off. The actor was actually unhappy to be written out of the show. I read somewhere he had just bought a house and then learned he was out. I read The producers thought it was too hard to write funny married couple stories. Such a lame excuse. Look at how many successful married couple sitcoms there are since TV began.

[–] [email protected] (6010) 8 years ago

I was so mad when they broke up Rhoda and Joe! Sure, David Groh did not have the comedic skills of the other actors. He was usually playing the straight man to Rhoda's neuroses and that was enough. But they seemed to love each other.

I think the writers just invested a whole lot in the WEDDING episode and then neglected to write for a marriage. If Ricky Ricardo could put up with Lucy's craziness all those years, Joe could've stuck it out with Rhoda.

It was just very lazy writing I think.

Thinking about this some more. I think the marriage was doomed from the start. Rhoda fell in love with Joe so quickly and she wanted to be married RIGHT AWAY.

Joe was divorced and wanted to take things slowly. But Rhoda pressed him for a commitment. She basically issued him an ultimatum. As we saw in the episode with Joe's ex, Rhoda was the opposite of Marion. So he thought, " Well maybe this time it will work. A very different woman will mean a very different marriage."

I've known several people who jump into another marriage without coming to terms with what went wrong with their LAST marriage.

[–] ProductionNow (1072) 6 years ago

yet, season 2 was the best of the series.

[–] [email protected] (6010) 6 years ago

Yes, season two was the best of the series. I just finished season four. Good grief, I don't know WHY I bought it! Most of the episodes weren't funny. But some were so painfully UN-funny that it almost hurt to watch them. What were the writers thinking?

I felt sorry for Valerie Harper. The writing managed to ruin the character of Rhoda. Just about the worst episode in season four is the one where Rhoda and her boss get locked in the restroom at work, "As Time Goes By". They had nothing to drink but a case of wine. The scene goes on and on, ad nauseum, with Rhoda and Jack getting tipsy. Valerie Harper does NOT play an amusing drunk. I finally fast forwarded the rest of the scene.

I did like the two episodes with Judd Hirsch, "Rhoda Likes Mike" and "The Weekend." I think the writers hit on a winning match for Rhoda. Too bad they had to make Mike afraid of commitment and only use him in two episodes. He would've been a great addition to the cast.
But "The Weekend" highlights one of the big problems that Rhoda has and probably one of the reasons Joe left. She is so very needy and insecure. She and Mike were only on a few dates and Rhoda immediately assumed that they were a couple. She demanded commitment from him. Of course she made the same foolish mistake that a lot of women make. They had three dates and she slept with him. Doing that so early in a relationship usually only makes the woman feel serious, not the man.

[–] ProductionNow (1072) 6 years ago

I've mixed feelings on this one, since I don't know where the line is drawn regarding when a couple first have sex. (at least it was better than sleeping together after only the 1st date). It puts the woman in the middle in making a decision; while she doesn't wish to be perceived as "easy", it's important, depending on the couple's priorities, to know if they are sexually compatible before getting married or falling too deeply in love. (part of the 70's new liberated outlook of living together). And while some men only want sex, it's so much more acceptable for women these days to only want the same without being judged as promiscuous.
I don't remember this episode, if Mike actually said (or implied) that he did not want a commitment because Rhoda thought they were a couple too early, and she scared him off.

[–] [email protected] (6010) 6 years ago

If you get a chance, you can watch "Rhoda Likes Mike" on youtube. It's a surprisingly good episode considering the general quality of season four is bad.

Rhoda tells Brenda that her first few dates with Mike were great and then she hints around about the previous night's date.
She said that if last night's date was a movie, it would have ended with waves crashing on the shore.
Brenda says, "Oh, you went to the beach." When it dawned on her, she said, "Oh!'

Rhoda is planning to make a home cooked dinner for Mike and she also ordered a case of wine because Mike likes wine. She gets a phone call from him. He tells her that he had a nice time and hopes to see her around.

Obviously their intimate encounter meant something different to each of them. For women, especially women like Rhoda who gives her heart away too easily, I think it would be wiser to delay "taking it to the next level". She should be sure that the guy cares about her and is planning to stick around. It's only wise to protect your feelings.

I know some women can have casual sex. But women are wired differently than men. First of all, women have a lot MORE at stake than a man. He can just walk away if he decides not to see the woman anymore. A woman however, can become pregnant and it's not so easy to just "walk away" from that.

Rhoda knew she was getting the brush off. When Mike came in to have the costume that he ordered readjusted, Rhoda had a hard time being civil to him. She was almost hostile. Mike never promised her anything. But she assumed by his actions that he did.