Warning! The following contains spoilers for the 90 Day Fiancé: The Other Way Season 2 episode called "The Parent Trap." Read at your own risk!
90 Day Fiancé: The Other Way has been a whirlwind for almost every party involved, but especially Deavan Clegg and Jihoon Lee. The arguments have been non-stop ever since Deavan arrived with the children in South Korea, and tempers have flared to extremes over several things. Unfortunately, neither party is fluent in the other's language, so they have to rely on what may be the biggest villain of Season 2: their universal translator.
Deavan Clegg and Jihoon Lee have this universal translator that is somehow awesome at making a bad situation so much worse. Remember earlier in the season when Jihoon lied to Deavan about having the proper finances for them to have the life she wanted in Korea? That wasn't a good look to be sure, but when he tried to apologize to her and explain he was keeping money with his mother to prevent him from spending, the translator spat this out at Deavan:
I'll make another mistake. I'll waste that money again!
That's the exact opposite of what Deavan Clegg wanted to hear in a conversation, and was incredibly confusing and alarming given the context of why she was at the home. The frustration with the device ultimately led to tempers flaring, and the conversation ended when Jihoon stormed out of the apartment. At that point, a voice from beyond the camera spoke, and as luck would have it, there was a crew member present who is fluent in both Korean and English.
I'm aware that 90 Day Fiancé: The Other Way is far from the first reality television series to let situations ride out for drama, but this felt a bit extreme. A real couple is having a high-stakes conversation about whether or not a man's wife and her children will stay in his country long-term, and no one intervenes when the device screws up a translation on that level? That feels a little cruel if that is the case, and almost like TLC is more invested in the drama than Deavan Clegg and Jihoon Lee's actual marriage.
I bring this up now because the preview for next week's midseason finale shows Deavan using the translator to interact with Jihoon's mother, and of course, it's wonky again. We don't know the full context of the conversation, but the preview shows Deavan asking Jihoon's mother what her expectations are for her, and the answer is that she doesn't expect a lot. Once again, the translator came through with a gem that was much worse than what was said.
Without much hope.
Deavan Clegg seems to laugh it off a bit, but what's dangerous here is Jihoon Lee's mother does not have any grasp of English. Her assumption could be she was accurately translated, and Deavan may be sitting there thinking her mother-in-law hates her. Truthfully her instincts don't seem to be that far off, but in this case, I think Mama Jihoon was trying to be laid back and it came off as aggressive. Bottom line, I really hope these two got some actual translation help between filming because it would be a shame if these arguments affected the marriage.
90 Day Fiancé: The Other Way airs on TLC Mondays at 9:00 p.m. ET. Continue to stick with CinemaBlend for more on the show, and for the latest happening in television and movies.
