Nine Perfect Strangers excels at analyzing dysfunctional relationships and dissecting them.
Nine Perfect Strangers Season 2 Episode 7 showcased three parental and child relationships, showing their cracks.
The installment also showcased that both Masha and Martin exhibited their issues, and we’ll analyze which character had more evil tendencies.
While I enjoyed seeing the other guests’ reactions to the drama, this episode again focused more on Masha’s drama versus the strangers’ personal problems.
Martin Embodied the Next Norman Bates
Tina was absolutely right. Martin behaved like Norman Bates. He was obsessed with pleasing his mother and hated Masha for being close to Helena.
Why wasn’t I surprised that Helena had a dysfunctional relationship with her son? Lena Olin seems famous for that since I remember Irina and Sydney from Alias.
Helena and Martin vibed differently. It almost seemed like she didn’t trust her son and needed Masha to keep an eye on him.
He felt it endangered his family legacy and wanted to destroy Masha’s reputation. It almost felt like Martin saw his relationship with his mom as sacred and didn’t want to share her with anyone.
As much as I hated David taunting Martin, he made some valid points. Mental health professionals should never divulge privileged information or insult a grieving person.
You’d think Martin would understand grief since he lost his mother, but that only made him more bitter.
He seemed to break down since he missed Helena, and he didn’t know how to handle Masha anymore, especially after he blamed himself for Victoria’s adverse reaction to the drug.
Those were some intense confrontation scenes between him and David, which led me to suspect the men had met before.
It wasn’t Martin’s fault that Victoria reacted severely to the drug. Part of that was because she never disclosed her illness, yet David wanted to dump it all on Martin, while Martin preferred to make Masha the villain.
Imogen and Peter Realized They Were More Alike Than They Thought
It’s scary when Victoria and Imogen have the healthiest parent and child relationship on the series.
While I disliked that Victoria hid her illness from Imogen, I understood she only wanted her daughter to remember her as full of life.
Imogen remembered losing her dad, and she feared losing her mom, too. It’s disheartening that it took a tragedy to bring them closer, but now they have a second chance to make up for lost time.
Peter isn’t as likely to give his father any more chances. He was exhausted from getting scraps of affection, almost like a dog.
David cared more about business than his son. While he swore they would invest in the resort together, that wasn’t the commitment Peter longed for.
He wanted a father, not a business partner. Poor Peter. He sacrificed time with Imogen to try to mend his relationship with his father, only to realize his mistake.
Peter and Imogen seemed like two lost souls, and he was so funny, imagining their adorable future children.
The Best Supporting Characters Continue to Be Sidelined
In Nine Perfect Strangers Season 2 Episode 6, I mentioned that Bryan, Agnes, Wolfie, and Tina were the best parts of the series. They share a heartwarming but unlikely friendship.
However, the series continued to sideline them, only featuring their reactions in the background, when their featured episodes were the strongest ones.
They deserved more just being shocked to the latest debacle or only a few minutes of their own issues.
Agnes behaved like the mother hen, which made sense from her time in the convent. Part of her wanted to comfort Martin, but another part feared having another person relying on her after that pregnant mom and baby died under watch years ago.
I love how Brian would trust Agnes with his life. I’d watch a spin-off of these two. While he believed in Agnes, Brian had trouble believing he was redeemable and kept imagining that Jessie taunted him. In reality, he hadn’t gotten over his past.
It amused me that Tina relished in the David versus Martin drama the most when she was dragged to the resort.
She could not barely maintain Wolfie’s interest in the gossip, though. It was Tina’s turn to beg.
It seemed like they had reunited and were happier in Nine Perfect Strangers Season 2 Episode 6, and now they were distant again.
While these two were cute, their mind games were exhausting.
Masha Took Peter’s Advice to Heart, Asking For the Big Guns
Speaking of mind games, Masha was an expert in them. She longed for David to suffer for his part in Tatiana’s death, and Peter inadvertently helped.
Peter resented his father even more, so he shared information with Masha, insinuating she held the power since she had what David wanted.
Masha used his obsession with power and her to see if he’d forgo the rest of his companies for her and how much he trusted her.
Masha and David exhibit a crazy and intimate relationship. She needed him to trust him so she could punish him yet she seemed fond of him. It’s a classic dysfunctional relationship.
That cliffhanger was intense because it looked like he was on trial by the rest of the guests after she promised to introduce David to their daughter.
Martin had already exposed Masha’s secrets to the guests. Are they about to hear even more juicy secrets, or was there another reason to put David on trial by a jury of his peers?
You’ll have to tune in to the Nine Perfect Strangers Season 2 finale.
Over to you, Nine Perfect Strangers Fanatics. Which character embodies evil the most? Who is your favorite stranger?
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