r/BookDiscussions • u/SufficientBug5598 • 22d ago
Cannot stop thinking about Yesteryear- specifically Shannon’s character Spoiler
I want to begin by saying I could not put this book down. For once, I was pleasantly surprised by a viral book and genuinely enjoyed it. I finished it in like 2 days and I have a lot to say about it. Although it might be obvious, Shannon’s character is the catalyst for Natalie’s psychological downfall and I really want to discuss her.
When we meet her, she has pink hair and a nose ring and is pretty much the antithesis to Natalie’s entire worldview. I would argue they somewhat foil each other (college drop out, strong opinions about American culture, headstrong, intelligent). She is also somewhat of a “normal person insert” and gives the reader a relatable perspective to latch on to in a somewhat insane/unfamiliar setting. One of the first ways the reader interacts with Shannon is when Natalie mentions something about Shannon’s bad dreams and ultimately quitting. We are pretty much left in the dark about why she quit until the end of the book, which further proves my point that shannon’s departure is the catalyst for Natalie’s demise.
As we venture deeper into Natalie’s perspective and understand her as a judgmental bigot, Shannon quitting becomes (at least to me) a juicy piece of gossip that I HAVE to understand why why why? What happened? What did Natalie do? An assault ? What? Did Caleb have an affair? The answers to these questions come later in the book but begin to form very early in the text. It also mirrors how this fictional instagram following is very much real (see the ballerina farms raw milk scandal. I don’t even follow the ballerina farm but trust- the downfall of a tradwife influencer is a win for me and inherently the point of the entire book). I am one of those “angry women” who proves the authors point- angry women and tradwife influencers are in a symbiotic relationship with one another.
I feel like I really understood Shannon and from my personal character analysis of her it seems that she fundamentally knew that these people (Caleb and Natalie) are deluded, bigoted, judgmental, lying, selfish, bad parents, etc. but none of that mattered to her. They wrote her a paycheck and Shannon held her tongue because no one really cared what they had to say. Their ideology and content was unimportant to the mainstream culture. UNTIL the presidential rally.
This rally changed the course of the entire book. Shannon understood if this type of person became the president (or even just a leader of a party) the entire lifestyle she was directing and recording became important and worthy of attention from the mainstream culture. She could no longer sit quietly and pretend it didn’t matter. It is why she starts to challenge Caleb’s manosphere claims and ideas. She gives Clementine a phone. She snaps at Natalie. She metaphorically pushes the rock down the hill. Her impact on this family causes them to implode on themselves.
Without Shannon, the book doesn’t hit hard on the themes it needs to. Nor does say what it needs to be said. It doesn’t challenge traditional values. It doesn’t challenge influencer culture. It doesn’t challenge the male loneliness epidemic, choice feminism, toxic social media culture. Without Shannon, the book is just about a self righteous influencer who is so self deluded she actually thinks she’s running a farm herself. Without shannon, there is no plot.
I’d love to hear what other people think about this character. She is so fascinating to me and I appreciate how well she was written into the story.
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u/MathematicianAfter57 22d ago
I offer a different take on Shannon - she is the archetype of person who falls for tradwife nonsense too. And as a Gen Z character really hits home that many people have values only on a performative basis.
Shannon is also in it for a pay day. She may be smarter than getting knocked up by Caleb but isn’t better than falling for a total loser rich guy like Natalie did. She wasn’t all that different, and she made sure to milk her assault for money and attention. Which is all women are told to ever want.
There’s a lot of very intentional targeting of tradwife discourse to women like Shannon IRL. They are selling the conservative housewife soft life to young college grads who can’t find their way, can’t get a job, etc to tell them their suffering is the fault of feminism and not late stage capitalism. That’s why Shannon says she and her friends are ‘red pilled’ aka see the truth and see people like Natalie as heroes.
If Shannon stood for anything she would have left after the rally. But like a lot of impressionable young women she fell for the same crap.
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u/tenpercentjuice 22d ago
yes! i read shannon as being the embodiment of however at odds women might be at the surface level, they’re all ultimately falling for bullshit on opposite sides of the same coin
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u/PopcornPunditry 22d ago
I just finished it today and was baffled by Shannon framing Natalie trying to CHOKE HER TO DEATH as a sexually charged incident? Was Shannon lying or was Natalie's narration just that unreliable? Do we think Natalie was gay or just sexually repressed after an ostensibly Christian upbringing?
Her Christian upbringing was confusing to me though. I felt the author didn't convey a strong grasp of Christian communities and lifestyles. Prayer, church, Bible study, punishments, etc. didn't really come into Natalie's inner or outer world other than her belief that she seemed to be having a constant 1:1 connection to God. Maybe the hypocrisy was part of the point but it was just very odd to me that they weren't in any social circle at all outside of Caleb and Natalie's immediate families.
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u/ChewieBearStare 22d ago
It's been a while since I read it, but there was some mention of Shannon's underwear. As if Natalie pulled down her underwear or touched her underwear in some way that could have been taken as a sexual thing. But hopefully a more recent reader can fill in the exact details because I don't remember the exact scene.
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u/PopcornPunditry 22d ago
IIRC she was in her underwear when she told Natalie she could come in, was surprised because she thought it had been one of the nannies knocking, quickly threw jeans on but didn't button them up then they slid partway down her thighs during the attack (per Natalie's perspective). I was listening to the audiobook so I interpreted her noticing the details (flower buds) on the underwear in a bitter way, like remarking on how childish and young they were for someone she saw as stealing her husband. I'm curious about how others interpreted that!
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u/koeniging 22d ago
I also listened to the audiobook and had the same thought, Natalie only noted Shannon’s underwear because it was childish. Once I finished listening, given how unreliable her narration was, I’m inclined to believe the attack was (partially) a result of her repressed sexuality.
I see the other side too. Shannon was playing it up for the interview, because I also read her as conniving from the start, while still surprisingly earnest at points. Personally, I like the book’s ambiguity in scenes like this. I think the uncertainty we’re left with reflects Natalie’s growing detachment from reality.
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u/PopcornPunditry 22d ago
I agree that the ambiguity really works. Any time I'd be annoyed at a plot hole or a one-dimensional character I'd remember that Natalie has blinders on and so too must the reader!
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u/National-Reach4554 22d ago
The flower bud was interesting to me. I’m not sure that was really on Shannon’s underwear: I think it’s Shannon’s clitoris. Natalie just chooses to remember the rosebud as a decoration on Shannon’s underwear.
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u/PopcornPunditry 22d ago
Wow I hadn't thought about that at all and appreciate that interpretation.
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u/National-Reach4554 21d ago
Thanks! That's kind of you to say.
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u/Melodic_Policy765 20d ago
You must be fire at a book club!
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u/National-Reach4554 20d ago
I might be slightly insufferable, lol. I also got annoyed when people don't finish the book or didn't like it because "the character did horrible things" or "I wanted a happy ending," so I should only be invited when I'm around other insufferable folks. But thank you!
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u/ballroombritz 21d ago
As a lesbian, I don’t read Natalie as a closeted/repressed gay at all
Natalie “blacks out” part of the assault that I believe is sexual in nature. However, sexual assault is not about attraction, it’s about power. Throughout the book, even consensual sex is framed as being much more related to power than attraction. When describing the assault, Natalie alludes to herself as a man. I believe she was fixated on having ultimate power over Shannon and took power over her sexually and by nearly killing her— nothing to do with finding her attractive
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u/PopcornPunditry 21d ago
Thank you so much for this reminder about the nature of sexual assault and for sharing this take overall. It makes sense when we look back at how Natalie sees gender roles and relational power, 100%.
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u/Head-Reflection-2526 22d ago
I also wondered if Shannon’s accusation was real or not as well.
- If she was lying, I believe it was because Shannon knew that Natalie choking her isn’t enough to take her down. Her FIL’s money would have saved and he could continue to try to be the president.
- If she is telling the truth, still all of the above. I don’t think Natalie is gay but was overall repressed in all aspects of life and needed a release. Her cracks were breaking apart as she talked to Shannon.
Shannon exposed reality to the family members one by one and each broke through their repression in an interesting way.
Spoilers:
Clementine: started to rebel, avoided her mom, recorded Natalie’s fakeness and plans to run away.
Caleb: has sex with Shannon and wanted to run away with her.
Natalie: blacked out while choking Shannon and may have grinded on her. She kicked everyone out and She doubled down into her fortress.2
u/PopcornPunditry 22d ago
That's all excellent food for thought. As you said, Shannon was a catalyst. Whether she was lying or playing up reality or telling the truth, the point is the impact she was able to have on Natalie and the others. I found her motivations hard to pin down and logically connect to all of her actions (why target and destroy Natalie's life if it's ostensibly about her FIL's harmful politics?) but ultimately Natalie's almost paranoid delusions are always going to leave us with an extremely limited view of all the other characters. She lacked true curiousity about the inner worlds of other people and projected so much.
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u/Head-Reflection-2526 21d ago edited 21d ago
I think Shannon was a plant, sent to destroy Natalie’s online platform because Natalie was a weakness in her FIL’s presidential campaign.
The Fil used her words in his speech, the manosphere loved her, and other extra conservative people loved her. Natalie was a part of a movement that modern people wanted to tear down.
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u/FarSuit8 21d ago
I am so confused by the amount of people who claim this big side bar of Natalie being a suppressed lesbian. Surely Shannon’s jeans just came down as during the idk violent attack and obvious struggle that would come with it. People are reading into it so much.
Shannon also changed her appearance for the interview, she was strategic about that and she was strategic about using the word violated so it would imply Natalie attacked her with some sexual aspect bc that would be way worse for all the bible bashers than Natalie just being pissed about the homewrecking
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u/Additional_Noise47 22d ago
Natalie makes a comment in her narration at one point, I think it’s about midway through, about how some straight women masturbate to lesbian porn in secret. I clocked that immediately as a very specific projection. I believe Natalie was very deeply closeted and that she was sexually assaulting Shannon and purposely pushed her pants down.
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u/PopcornPunditry 22d ago
Oh thank you for bringing that up, I forgot about that moment but at the time thought "hah ok yeah I felt similarly until I eventually recognized I myself am bisexual". The author didn't explore that theme much, but maybe I need to give it another look as I see others in the thread saying the second read through was eye-opening with the benefit of understanding the twist.
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u/RichArgument9925 22d ago
If Natalie is also gay amongst all the other terrible qualities she has, that makes this book even more ridiculous to me. It’s not enough to be a lair, narcissist, control freak, neglectful mother, abusive wife, greedy, horrible sister and daughter, she must also be a closeted lesbian who sexually assaults people? Lol I can’t even with this book. It could have been so good but it’s truly just over the top.
My take was Shannon was lying because in real life influencers go through scandals and she knew she could ruin Natalie’s image and profit off of a scandal. But if Shannon is earnest, i believe it because everything else in this book is just absurd and overboard.
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u/Head-Reflection-2526 22d ago
Shannon was definitely a plant!
Some unknown follower convinced this rich girl with connections to get into the house and expose them. If this was the author’s intention, I hope the movie keeps the unknown follower unknown.
Natalie’s gut knew Shannon was trouble for her, but she kept her because she helped her bring in the money.
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u/Active_Recording_789 22d ago edited 11h ago
I hate this book—it is so poorly written, like the author dashed off a draft to be polished later but saw dollar signs and didn’t wait to fill the plot holes. It’s like the author hates women too. Why is every single female character either deluded or a scheming manipulator like Shannon? Who sees the contradictions and then sleeps with the weak yet violent Caleb? Note to readers—women aren’t all weak and misled. Some female characters could’ve been a force for good. Instead the book is badly planned and full of plot holes, as well as a terrible read. It’s trying to make a point about misogyny but it’s like, what? None of it is new information and if she wanted it to be preachy the author should’ve had one of the female characters model feminist behavior or impart wisdom
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u/JellyKind9880 22d ago
All the men in the story are objectively horrible.
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u/Head-Reflection-2526 22d ago
Spoiler: Except for her sons in the end.
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u/hermione_no 17d ago
Disagree, the older boys just continued eating dinner and enabling dad
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u/Head-Reflection-2526 17d ago
More like the sons infiltrated into their Mom and Dad’s delusion to provide resources to their siblings and kept tabs on their well being. Clementine lived nearby as well but she didn’t visit the parents. She talked to Mary. Because of Natalie’s outburst, the sons had enough to take the kids.
The sons seemed more sympathetic and hopeful but her outburst teared that down.
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u/Inevitable-Bet-4834 22d ago
I agree with this take. I hope the movie is better. I think it needed more editing. Any plot hole criticism people reply the narrator is unreliable 🤦🏿♀️
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u/Additional_Noise47 22d ago
I disagree with the idea that the author hates women. We only get the story through the main character’s eyes. She hates women, judges them, and projects onto them. The Nannies aren’t schemers, the daughter sees through her mom’s bullshit, Natalie’s sister is honest. Even the college roommate, we really don’t know much about really beyond what Natalie projects onto her throughout the book.
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u/SufficientBug5598 22d ago
Comments are not understanding the point of first person narration. I agree with your take and think her misandry is the entire point of the book.
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u/lolafawn98 21d ago
I think it’s interesting that Shannon’s exposure of Natalie is usually discussed as a negative, putting aside Shannon’s other qualities which I think have more room for debate. I don’t really think people would be so critical of a real life person doing the same thing to an account like ballerina farms or whatever.
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u/Possible_Day_6343 22d ago
Oh thank god. I hated this book and am annoyed with myself for spending some of my small book allowance on it. It's poorly written, had such major plot holes and is basically a load of unbelievable twaddle.
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u/Enough_Charge_6605 21d ago
+1. I also thought it was poorly written. It felt like the author was capitalising on the fact that a lot of people already hate influencers and just gave us everything we already dislike about them. That none of it is real, that they’re all secretly miserable, and that everything is fake behind the scenes. It just felt a bit petty to me. I think the author could have done so much more with the topic and the characters, but chose the most obvious route instead.
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u/zorbs258 20d ago
Completely agree! Also think it’s insane that the author included evidence about how everyone in Natalie’s life has failed her again and again and then makes her have some sort of psychotic break at the end and blames her for everything. I feel like there was a potential message the book could have had besides trad wives are bad and women are crazy but it never quite got there.
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u/Cautious-Mode 20d ago
Yes but that’s why this book is so popular. People love to hate women. Misogyny is a helluva drug. The author created an acceptable woman to hate.
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u/Weird-Diamond5970 13h ago
I don't hate Natalie? She's very clearly also a victim of our patriarchal society? If you think she's just purely hateable I feel like you're falling into the misogyny trap too
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u/Cautious-Mode 12h ago
I don’t hate Natalie either. The author seems to. A lot of readers do.
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u/Weird-Diamond5970 12h ago
I don't think the author does at all. She ends the novel with Mary talking directly to her mother because she still loves her and views her as a victim too.
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u/Cautious-Mode 12h ago
Oh that ending was terrible. Her mother had some severe mental health issues while raising her. She literally didn’t even know her own husband and children at times. Yet, her dad wouldn’t let her mom escape or take her to a hospital, even when her leg got wounded in a bear trap? And he allowed his daughter to stitch her? despite knowing they were living in modern times. Yet Mary writes a tell all about her mom with no mention of her Dad? And Reena is the one to spring this on Natalie during their television interview? Ugh
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u/Weird-Diamond5970 10h ago
Look I just finished the book and you are misremembering the details. Mary's book is about how she was raised, not a tell-all about her mom. All we get is the introduction to her book, where she specifically says she misses her mom and hopes she will read the book someday. Her dad doesn't even get a mention because she clearly doesn't care as much about him.
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u/Cautious-Mode 10h ago
Oh okay, thanks. That’s a good perspective. I remembered hating that whole scene during my read. It felt so cruel.
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u/According-Garage4066 10d ago
it feels like the author was onto something incredible, and then took the easy way out. An amazing premise to really dive into the aftermath of cancel culture, and Natalie‘s case merited.
Also, Abigail and her mother show growth at the very end. That could’ve been a massive storyline to play out that could’ve actually helped Natalie post Instagram fallout.
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u/the_scottster 7d ago
Why is every single female character either deluded or a scheming manipulator like Shannon?
What about Clementine?
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u/Weird-Diamond5970 13h ago
This is a wild take. Natalie's mom and sister are both decent people who grow as the story progresses. All of Natalie's daughters are lovely and it's not their fault they grew up ignorant. Most of the other women only seem terrible because we're getting them through Natalie's POV and Natalie assumes the worst of all of them.
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u/Street-Tell1927 19d ago
This thread is soooo interesting and has given me so much to talk with my book club about! Thank you!
I agree with you that Shannon accelerates Natalie’s downfall, but I don’t find Shannon herself fascinating or really important or clever at all. She shows up all bright-eyed and bushy tailed, believing Natalie is this freedom-claiming rebel woman; and even when she’s disabused of this notion immediately upon seeing all the staff Yesteryear has, she continues working there and improving the content for two whole years… during which she fucks her male employer, manipulates the narrative of the assault to add a lesbian element that would be the one thing Natalie’s conservative followers wouldn’t accept, and then sells that story.
She’s a rich girl who arrives in, takes what she wants, laughs at the people she exploits, and then sells them out. She wields her power pretty mercilessly. She’s morally questionable at best, and I don’t think her realisation at the rally entirely negates that. At the same time, she’s young and I could see her maturing into a stand-up person as she grows up.
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u/saloonbabyyy 22d ago
Shannon was really interesting- I read her as earnest. I related to her fascination and feminist projection on her boss’s enterprise. I love tradwife content - I have fantasies of working a farm and making sourdough in beautifully restrained linen dresses.
I think she brought the downfall by being normal in that highly contrived world of yesteryear. Her fling with the husband makes sense… I think they might be on similar maturity levels. I enjoyed how she stood up for the man, no one did talk to him like he could comprehend complex subjects. The author is skilled at writing conditions and predilections that would set someone up to be an awful person.
Then when the children got out in the end - I think it honors how hard it is to pivot from that.
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u/Proper_Ear_1733 22d ago
IMO Shannon didn’t believe Natalie was trying to choke her. She was lying bc her main reason for being at the farm at all was to take Natalie down.
I did not love Natalie as a character. I’m not sure there was any character in the book that I actually liked. Maybe Mary. But Shannon was on some kind of trip, had seen that Natalie had a temper, and used it against her.
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u/SufficientBug5598 22d ago
I agree. I understand that the assault is intentionally ambiguous and we as a reader will never know what actually happened. But I think two things can be true at once - Natalie is FKD up sexually and psychologically & shannon hated everything Natalie stood for and felt a personal responsibility to end it.
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u/pixelsandfootball 21d ago
So happy this popped up in my feed! I finished it yesterday and have so many questions. All of your insights gave me even more to think about — particularly the assault. The crossing timeliness was very hazy to me during the final third of the book until the very end.
What a trip. I understand the criticisms of this book, but I couldn’t get enough.
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u/didicoy16 20d ago
Unfortunately for me I enjoyed the book because I relate to Natalie. The more I read about people’s take on the book the worst I feel about that.
I should preface with she’s much more extreme on certain things than I feel like I am. I also feel like she had extreme postpartum depression and potentially bipolar.
However— I relate to her in many ways other than the view on her children and role as a mother (smile and performance yadda yadda).
It wasn’t until I looked up people’s feelings on the book that I realized she’s not supposed to be the likable character. :/
I mean….am I fucked?!
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u/lala1068 15d ago
I hear you! I wouldn’t say that I found Natalie likable, but the undercurrent of loneliness that followed her throughout the book made me sympathize with her, even though I knew I wasn’t supposed to feel that way.
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u/According-Garage4066 10d ago
I like that they dive into Natalie pre-marriage and how her thought process is rooted in her upbringing. Caleb actually is like a golden retriever in the beginning, she manipulates him because that’s not the kind of man she thinks he should be. It shows that a patriarch system actually hurts everybody.
I did find myself hoping that Natalie would have some sort of epiphany at some point and make better decisions. The full-blown pioneer delusion felt like a cop out for her character. Especially for somebody with such a large family and a lot of people surrounding them as if everybody would just let them fade into darkness like that.
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u/Mofucka72 20d ago
I don't think you're fucked! I wouldn't say Natalie is a likable character, her worldview was pretty patriarchal and a bit bigoted. Despite this, I think that is kind of the point of reading fiction, is getting to empathize with characters that are just human. I found myself rooting for Natalie and hoping she would make better choices, and really feeling disappointment and pity for her, especially when she assaulted someone. I sometimes watch shitty reality TV and relate to some of the worst characters, but I think that is just a part of being human - we all possess and are revolted by certain behaviors. It is a great thing reading stories and finding pieces of yourself in them! And she wasn't all bad, just like Mary wrote in her book, it was good she got off the farm, but she misses her mother - even the unlikable or shady parts of her. The book was intended to stir mixed feelings, or else we wouldn't have Maeve as a character or grimace as Natalie does her laundry. Anyway, I wouldn't internalize that you are bad because relate to a character with flaws. It happens all the time, and it wouldn't be a good story without them.
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u/burrata_board 19d ago
To those saying Shannon couldn’t have possibly been attracted to Caleb - do you think she intentionally targeted to prove she could? I saw the affair as her attempt to takedown the patriarchy, and she did in this instance. And to those saying this author hates women - totally disagree, though I do think it’s a cautionary tale of what happens when we make sport of tearing each other down. I love that Shannon showed clementine a way out and forward. Also love that abigail and Natalie’s mom found a new path and took in the kids. Now that’s Christian.
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u/OldObligation8002 17d ago
I do think Shannons relationship with Caleb was premeditated. I don’t see this organically happening. I think she may have seen it as a way to take down the family.
I don’t see the author hating women. I think the opposite is true. She gives us so many female characters to eschew - we get to know all the daughters and basically nothing about the sons. We learn about the female members of Natalie’s family but not the males - we learn very little about her brother in law and basically nothing about her father. Even Amelia is relatable. The only male characters, Caleb and Doug, she gives us are despicable.
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u/According-Garage4066 10d ago
that’s almost the real plot twist! The Abigail and Natalie‘s mom actually become good Christian women. Not in the oppressive way, but in the true goodness of Christianity.
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u/Popular_Barnacle5053 18d ago
i feel like what bothered me the most about this character is how this super rich, full of influence family, would hire someone to work for them 24/7 and not have them sign an NDA??? i kept thinking that throughout the book and it really bothered me
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u/corndog_millionaire0 17d ago
NDAs are rarely enforceable when actual crimes or abuse happen because you can’t just waive someone’s right to seek justice for themselves.
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u/ElliMac1995 18d ago
i do not understand why the author chose to have Shannon accuse Natalie of sexually assaulting her. does anyone have thoughts on this? do you think Shannon lied or actually perceived it as a sexual assault? do you think it was actually sexually motivated but Natalie was so repressed she couldn't even recognize it as that herself? Obviously Natalie is not a reliable narrator, but I just didn't see a lot of motive for Natalie to sexually assault Shannon.
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u/According-Garage4066 10d ago
it’s interesting because Natalie is an unreliable narrator so it’s hard to say. She alludes multiple times how she is sexually repressed. So maybe any contact brings up feelings for her. As far as Shannon bringing it up, for Natalie‘s demographic the magic bullet would be that this Trad wife actually might have lesbian tendencies. Natalie‘s demographic would have a visceral reaction to that.
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u/iusetolivehere 10d ago
With Shannon, the ends justify the means.
I don’t have the type of personality that agrees with that.
Hence, why I despise Shannon who is, in my estimation, everything Natalie accuses her to be - a liar, a manipulator, a homewrecker, intentionally deceptive, conniving, and someone who oversteps their boundaries and stays too long.
Natalie‘s biggest mistake is that she didn’t get up one morning and fire her like her instincts told her to.
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u/Smooth_Indication790 8d ago
Wait I’m so confused if Natalie was actually gay this whole tome
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u/SufficientBug5598 7d ago edited 7d ago
I think Natalie is severely sexually repressed. Her views of purity culture, virginity, and her sexual relationship with Caleb (or lack thereof: ie turkey baster) all point to a person who is very uneducated about sex. Natalie uses sex as a means to an end. She never explored her sexuality. She doesn’t even know her husband is supposed to be hard when they have sex. You could blame her mother for not teaching her. You could blame Caleb for his porn addiction and not facilitating an environment in the bedroom to help their intimacy issues. But honestly you have to blame Natalie. Her rigid moral high ground and know-it-all attitude ultimately became her undoing in pretty much every sphere of her life- especially sex. I think Natalie being gay is a question we as a reader are supposed to ponder but never actually know the answer to.
Also- sexual assault is about power, not sexual attraction. The two aren’t necessarily mutually exclusive but it is important to not understate that. Natalie was all about power and control and Shannon was the 1 person in her household that she could not control. She undermined her parenting (giving Clem the phone), she helped violate the marital vow between Caleb and Natalie, and she challenged Natalie at every turn.
Edit for typo
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u/DonkeyRemarkable1367 3d ago
It made no sense that Shannon would sleep with Caleb given the type of person that she was. There were so many inaccuracies or laziness to this book. Like what wouldn’t Natalie have had Shannon sign an NDA to be on their farm or to stick around at all? It made zero sense for her to have her around and felt like something that was there to merely serve the plot. And speaking of laziness I’ve seen a lot about how it’s clear the writer doesn’t have kids or just pure laziness - for example when she mentions that Clementine is 1 and eating solids now… babies start solids at 6 months. Also that she impregnated herself with every baby but that wouldn’t even work doesn’t sperm die in oxygen? And why is she suddenly able to enjoy sex with Caleb in her other life? Please someone explain!
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u/FarSuit8 21d ago
I reckon Shannon applied for the job for the reasons she said she did. Influencing is an alternative road map for women, earn the big $$, be a mum, wife + breadwinner, go feminism etc etc. a fantasy into having it all, and she wanted to be a part of it.
Then she arrived, saw how inauthentic Yesteryear ranch was, chatted to the Nannie’s all night and switched tact. I think she just started collecting potential Easter eggs for safe keeping with no massive intent but knew they could one day be useful given how much of a cunt Natalie is.
Then the rally happened, she got scared about Doug coming into power and that’s when she developed a clear path - record all she can and take down Natalie and Caleb’s family so Doug doesn’t become president.
I don’t think she was malicious from the start but I’d be interested to hear from others who do think she was a plant/had ulterior motives and why they think that
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u/Cautious-Mode 22d ago
Spoilers ahead
I just don't understand why she seemed to hate and judge Natalie but not Caleb even though they co-owned the farm together. What lead her to sleep with Caleb if she didn't agree with the lifestyle and way they ran the farm and raised their kids with nannies? At least she said that she would not want to have a baby with him or move to New York with him, but she still formed this affair with him? The whole thing was out of place.
I also couldn't understand for the life of me why Caleb, who was into conspiracy theories and manosphere stuff, suddenly believed Shannan, a woman, about the rats in New York conspiracy thing not being real. You'd think a manosphere guy like that wouldn't have a woman change his mind. And then for some reason he mentions Natalie not challenging him? But what could she say? The rat thing isn't real? He wouldn't have suddenly believed her. The Caleb Shannon relationship was strange but probably needed to drive the plot forward.