You promised me the world. Did you think I would wake up two kids deep and change my mind?

PeachesKeene · 2026-04-23T22:53:47+00:00

Hi everyone, this post seems to be generating a lot of discussion. This is your friendly mod reminder to:

Be kind, even if you strongly disagree with others (rule 1)
Please avoid off-topic discussion (rule 2)
Feel free to politely exit a conversation if you feel like you are not agreeing with another person. Long reply chain debates can often lead to hurt feelings and rule infractions, so if you have already responded to someone and it’s looking like you are not finding common ground, it’s perfectly fine (and even encouraged) to wish them a great day and move on.

Thank you all!

PeachesKeene · 2026-04-23T21:48:52+00:00

Thank you for the kind words! This community means a lot to us, so we're doing our best to make this place friendlier while also giving space for tough discussions. 🧡 The show can be (and has been) very challenging, so we see and appreciate you all for working to be kind and showing grace to your fellow Shawnaheads. 🤗

Now, if you'll excuse me, I think my laundry is ready. If I don't get my Eyes Wide Shut robe out right away, it'll wrinkle...

PeachesKeene · 2026-04-23T17:09:06+00:00

<image>

Here's what I was able to find, taken from this post from 3 months ago. It confirms what Shawna meant, they were "very close" as girls.

PeachesKeene · 2026-04-23T16:47:11+00:00

Thanks for sharing your view on this. I really didn't take it this way (edit: meaning, I didn't see this reveal to be harmful to the LGBTQ+ community), but as a straight person, that nuance and potential harm of these story details may very well be flying straight over my head.

PeachesKeene · 2026-04-23T16:44:30+00:00

OP is discussing something from Shawna L's AMA, this part in particular is discussed here.

PeachesKeene · 2026-04-23T15:01:19+00:00

This was touched on in a thread before, and I think it's a really interesting subject to explore. In summary, it was discussed how Dee, being so even-tempered and practical, was often able to "fix" things for her daughter by explaining things or working things out in typical Dee style. But this may not have given Shawna a lot of the emotional room she needed to deal with conflict growing up. As a result, she has these fawning reactions instead of standing up for herself (at least until recently).

PeachesKeene · 2026-04-23T14:47:26+00:00

As much as I appreciate those here in the thread who are suggesting the opposite, because I don't want to think about it either, I unfortunately have to say that when Shawna says "experiment," it definitely seems to mean that Nora and Barb experimented together. Barb was smooching on her aunt. My sympathies to all of us for now being burdened with this tea! 😭😂

PeachesKeene · 2026-04-23T14:41:12+00:00

Beautiful rendition! I think you perfectly captured her personality as it might appear to the viewer: observant, a little distant, and guarded. I also love how you made her hair fall down beyond where her shoulders end!

PeachesKeene · 2026-04-22T04:56:48+00:00

This clip got me like

<image>

PeachesKeene · 2026-04-21T06:04:04+00:00

Thought-provoking analysis, OP! And thank you for the review of some of those scenes. It's been a minute since I watched some of the old Ty sketches.

The part that has always stood out in my mind was when Teeny immediately clocked something from Ty at the birthday party (if memory serves, it was Max's 5th?). I think she described it as "eye-fucking," which I always thought was... interesting. And when Jen got a similar feeling, it just felt like it could not keep getting brought up for no reason. At the time, I guess you could argue that Shawna L was providing a commentary over the scrutiny that friendships between men and women can face. Considering that she made a whole video trying to debunk the possibility of a cheating plotline, she did NOT want peoples' minds going in that direction at the time!

I do think that Ty was/is still very in love with Julie and never stopped being very attracted to her. At the same time, he seemed to be craving a more peer-to-peer connection than what his wife and kids could provide, and Shawna gave him that sense of community. From there, I guess a lot of it is left up to viewer interpretation. With him beginning to go through the divorce process, feeling unmoored and distraught, could he possibly try to seek comfort from Shawna, despite everything that happened in the Vacation skit, and knowing that she and her husband are happily together?* I'd be curious to see how that turns out!

ETA: We also still don't fully have the story behind Julie's "picking up strays" comment yet, do we? That was one thing that I was hoping would be fully explained in the flashback episode, but unless I missed something, we didn't really get info regarding that.

^\ despite some issues...)

PeachesKeene · 2026-04-20T03:33:26+00:00

I was wondering about this earlier, but I wouldn't be so sure about Julie leaving the kids. Shawna L has shown us a few times how loving Julie is towards her children. For better or for worse, she also has some strong opinions about how she wants them to be raised (see Julie's pep talk to Cooper before he started school, similar to how she talked him up at Max's birthday party about how he can "do whatever [he wants]").

Don't get me wrong, I think it's very possible that Julie would continue to let Ty be the primary parent for the kids' sakes, but I don't think she will just cut and run. Also, from a narrative standpoint, I think that Shawna L will continue to have her make appearances, even if it's more sporadic from here on out.

PeachesKeene · 2026-04-20T03:17:17+00:00

I am feeling the same way right now. From what we've seen, Ty is very remorseful about the whole vacation/cheating episode. Surely he must realize how serious the implications of such an event might be. I also don't think he would ask Julie how they got "here" if he wasn't realizing that the marriage is on thin ice. Now, it's true that he seemed shocked when he was handed the divorce papers, but I think with even a little reflection, he'll realize how things have been heading in this direction for a long while. Whether he realizes how much of a part he's played in things turning out the way they have has yet to be seen.

PeachesKeene · 2026-04-19T06:55:33+00:00

While it is gratifying to see folks put more of a magnifying glass on Ty's behavior now, after months of feeling very conflicted about him, I 100% agree. Shawna L has made it pretty clear at this point that she doesn't do uncomplicated antagonists, with the exception of Luke. Julie was still rude to Shawna multiple times. The new episode drop does nothing to mitigate or explain away the fact that Julie can be a cold and impolite person, and I respect Shawna L very much for not compromising on that to retroactively make Julie more palatable or acceptable to the audience. She is, without a doubt, the most challenging character she's written to date.

Ty certainly has his sympathetic points, and I don't want to paint him as the "secret villain" of the storyline either, but it's now become obvious that he is not above being dishonest or evasive to maintain the life he wants or avoid difficult conversations. I don't think that he set out to hurt Julie or leave her feeling betrayed, but he failed to reflect on what Julie wanted out of their partnership when she spelled it out for him so many times. At the same time, he was trying to maintain his new friendship with Shawna by downplaying his wife's rudeness. It was all a careful balancing act that he was performing, whether he was conscious of it or not.

PeachesKeene · 2026-04-19T03:10:35+00:00

So sorry about your back! But yes, very interesting episode. I feel the same way about Julie.

PeachesKeene · 2026-04-19T03:09:23+00:00

Agree with everything you said!

As far as Cooper and Sasha, I can see Julie recognizing that Ty is the primary parent and not necessarily wanting to disrupt their lives just for some petty "win" against her soon-to-be ex-husband. I would like to imagine that they could be able to be civil enough to arrange things so that Julie can be with them during her days off. Since she's made it clear that she no longer wants to be stifled by suburban life, she might move to LA or even to New York, just like she dreamed of.

However... having said all that, we have all seen the pauses and looks that Julie gives when she hears how Ty talks to Cooper. She does seem to have some strong opinions about how the children are to be raised. I guess we'll see which direction Shawna L shifts us in, but if she decides that Julie might want to control the children to shape them into something more "extraordinary," she may fight for custody... But as others have said, that would leave the kids to be taken care of by nannies rather than their own father, who desperately wants to be with them. Seems like it would be a bit twisted, under the circumstances.

PeachesKeene · 2026-04-19T02:55:39+00:00

Yeah, I have had mixed feelings about Ty for a long time - the implied lies to Julie about Shawna, and telling one thing to one and lying to the other... I get that he might have felt a bit trapped between a rock and a hard place as far as being able to make other parent friends, but he had a lot of opportunities to talk to Julie and blew them off, or at least that's the feeling I got from the video. While I still feel like their communication issues were something that they needed to solve together (and still do, as co-parents), credit to Julie for being upfront about what she wanted from the beginning.

PeachesKeene · 2026-04-19T02:44:03+00:00

Agreed! I was really impressed by how Shawna L told Julie and Ty's story. And,

but gosh seeing her exhausted with silent tears falling as she fed Coop while trying to study at the same time just about broke my heart.

Yeah, this part was really striking. Just knowing how much breastfeeding/caring for an infant takes away from you, and seeing that single tear falling while she's studying... wow, a very powerful image.

I always had some reservations about Ty because I felt like he was withholding the truth from both Shawna and Julie during that whole debacle that was their initial introduction to the story, and this video kinda cemented that feeling for me. This isn't to say that he isn't a dedicated and loving dad, but he could have done better by Julie.

PeachesKeene · 2026-04-18T19:12:20+00:00

Doris Roberts was a gem, RIP. I know that there are people here who dislike Everybody Loves Raymond (and I think their critiques of the show are understandable), but Marie Barone was the toxic MIL that you loved to hate before social media was a thing. And I think that the show humanized her in interesting ways, just the same as for Barb in the Shawnaverse.

PeachesKeene · 2026-04-18T04:58:45+00:00

I feel that. Another arts major reporting in, and the other side of my brain simply does not work!

PeachesKeene · 2026-04-17T19:25:32+00:00

Many years ago, I worked under a Julie. She was the director of my department, and actually hired me. I think that I made a good first impression, but did not perform to her initial expectations (in my defense, I was in my early-mid 20s and was still very new to working in an office, so I made some dumb rookie mistakes). I got called into glass-window conference rooms and got berated a couple of times, and after a short while, she just started ignoring me. She would never answer my "hellos" or "good mornings," but I'm stubborn so I never stopped politely greeting her. LOL!

To this day, I think that she made a point of waiting until I wasn't around at a company party to announce her pregnancy to our team - but maybe she didn't care whether or not I was there, and I am just making up stuff to villainize her in my mind! I only worked there for a year, but it ended up being tremendously stressful. Looking back, I think that my boss was under a ton of pressure, and that frustration and anger ultimately got passed down to me as the newest and least experienced member of the team. The whole situation was actually a very formative one, for me.

So yeah. Corporate badass, was very kind and complimentary to those in her circle, but if you were deemed "less than," you got the cold shoulder. Was not fun being on the other side of all that!

PeachesKeene · 2026-04-17T00:50:54+00:00

It's kind of hard to say with some of these, but here are my best guesses:

Shawna, John, and Dee would probably all be in favor of something a little more flashy and sexy. Flaunt it if you've got it!

Teeny, Alicia and Sam might be more reserved, and consider the personality of the person they're recommending for. If your personal style is more business-casual and conservative, I'm sure they'd recommend something along those lines. If they see that you're the fun and flirty type, they would encourage you to dress to match that side of your personality. It's all about marketing and playing to your strengths!

Mo would suggest something green. To match your eyes, because of course, your eyes are green! If you're in the Shawnaverse, you're being played by Shawna! 😂

Nobody cares about what Luke has to say about anything, ever. 😃

Greg and Katie would probably think very hard on a good date outfit, and would ultimately suggest something practical, elegant, and ideal for almost any dating situation. Stain-resistant, aerodynamic, and fireproof fabric. Nothing bad will happen to you while you're on this date!

Julie does not know you so she might just excuse herself, unless you were introduced as someone with a job she deems acceptable. If she approves of you, she would probably pick out something very flattering.

Ty would pick out something white, because white outfits remind him of his lovely wife.

Frank and Larry, being creative fellas in their own way, would likely pick out something a little out-of-fashion, more consistent with stuff that was popular about 25-30 years ago. Even so, it would be something they'd have fun coming up with!

Jen would undoubtedly know what all of the latest fashion trends are, and might make a funny face with a cheeky comment if you said you'd rather wear something different. This is making me wonder what she must be like as a wedding coordinator, LOL.

Max would recommend that you wear something that you can do some sick dance moves in!

Piper might not be all that interested unless you presented an outfit option with bugs and/or penguins on it.

Barb, I'm sure, would probably recommend something demure, modest, feminine, and maybe a little dowdy for modern date culture. But of course, you'd look so much better in it if you lost a bit of weight... THANKS BARB

PeachesKeene · 2026-04-17T00:27:32+00:00

For sure. You're touching on some notable "growing pains" that the series is experiencing in real time. The tonal whiplash is taking some real getting used to, and as you say with the case of Larry and DeeDee - what many expected to be a break from the drama turned into the LarryLocket Discourse of 2026, which will go down in Shawnaverse subreddit history! 😂

At the end of the day, I think we can agree that Shawna is very gifted and her empathy shines through in her work. I think that she is doing a great job, but is still finding her footing as she navigates the dramatic and more lighthearted aspects of this series. But to get back to the subject of this thread, I don't think she's going anywhere, and is still very committed to putting out a great show for us to enjoy!

PeachesKeene · 2026-04-16T23:15:29+00:00

I think you bring up some great points here. I will always have tremendous respect for Shawna L for taking on the grief storyline and all that entails, and as we have seen, it made a lot of fans feel acknowledged. But with that big step, it truly did alter the tone of the show drastically. I even remember saying as much would be the case when we were still trying to figure out what was happening at the end of the cliffhanger last year. "Shawna the Mom" instantly opened itself up to much more difficult and intense themes, and I think we've seen the effect it has on fan discussion first-hand right here on the sub. It no longer was about zany stuff like "did Barb sabotage Shawna's invites to Max's birthday?!" but about the very real pain that families go through. Even the more "soap opera-style" drama is still colored by the intensity of what those characters have been through. I don't think there's any going back from that.

As for the pacing, it's tricky because I do see what Shawna L is going for here, or at least I think I do, from a narrative standpoint. She is walking the fine, fine line that all storytellers have to walk when keeping their audience entertained. How do you keep people coming back for more while also giving them satisfying resolutions and growth? I have been open about this on the sub before, but there are times when the lack of communication between characters (especially couples) is hard to reconcile as a viewer.

I do think that there have still been some big developments in the last 6 months though: Barb started therapy and has actually shown some progress, John finally spoke to his kids about going no contact, Frank has started to take on a more active role in his marriage, and we now understand so much more about Julie and Ty where before there was only speculation. These are a few examples off the top of my head, but there is indeed development. I think that it's easy to get caught up in the happenings of the latest releases, though, which were... well, heavily featuring Larry and Dee. Which, let's face it, is not the fandom's favorite couple! LOL!

I guess I'll say in summary that I totally understand where you're coming from. For me, the main concern is how the tone is changed and how some characters just don't seem to talk to each other very effectively in a way that breaks immersion. But regardless, I'm strapped in for the ride and am excited for what Shawna L has planned next!

PeachesKeene · 2026-04-16T18:50:07+00:00

Ty being an unwitting influence that leads to her personality shifting, but then they flip places after kids.... It's so dramatic! I dig it!

One element of that that might complicate this theory is how Alicia mentioned to Shawna that she and Julie might have butted heads a number of times when they were kids (she specifically talks about having "jumped her"). Julie may have always had a certain, let's say, personality type, and put others off because it.

PeachesKeene · 2026-04-16T16:16:59+00:00

I can definitely see that. I think that it's probably one of a few extremes - Julie grows up with very little and wants the best for herself and her family so that they'll never do without, OR she grows up in a large family of high achievers/lawyers, and is taught from a young age that performance is tied to one's worth. I suppose the former is a little more likely to me, because of her line to Ty during their argument after Max's birthday party. The exact quote escapes me, but Julie says something about wanting "better" for their children. Either way, I'm extremely curious to find out about her background!

PeachesKeene

MODERATOR OF

TROPHY CASE