Meisha and Nicola have been in a relationship for years.
They only met in person very recently.
Their plan is to become engaged and then to marry.
But Nicola is noticing that Meisha’s behavior has shifted in one major way. And he wonders if she still loves him — and if she’ll say “yes” when he proposes.
Meisha Johnson and Nicola Kanaan
With just days to go before Meisha leaves Israel, Nicola wants to reassure her so that she will accept his proposal of marriage. Right now, she’s not happy — because his family was super chill about her being a divorced mom. Which seems to imply that Nicola was the one who had the problem with her all along. Nicola complains that he put “7 years of effort” into this relationship, so he doesn’t want to see it “fall down like a balloon.”
To the Dead Sea
Nicola takes some time to mansplain the narrative of Sodom and Gomorrah from their shared holy book. It’s unclear why Nicole thinks that she wouldn’t know this. It’s unclear how much detail Nicola put into retelling this narrative. Some fans are already speculating that editors may have removed a bigoted interpretation of the story in order to make Nicola palatable for audiences. While the show has done that before and recently, hiding some vile statements by Mahmoud on The Other Way Season 4, we can still give Nicola the benefit of the doubt. Right?
Don’t eat the salt
They visit the Dead Sea, and Meisha seemingly cannot resist tasting the salt, even though people walk on it. The plus side is that very few things can live in that much salt, so it’s not the same as eating sand on a normal beach. But still.
Time for mud!
With Meisha’s permission, Nicola begins to apply Dead Sea mud to her skin. It’s supposed to be good for them. However, as Meisha notes to the camera, Nicola’s confidence and inexperience — which she likes at some times — seems to be backfiring here. Because he’s not sensually rubbing the mud onto her. Meisha likens it to spackling a wall.
Missed opportunities
When Meisha sensually applies mud to Nicola, she invites him to reapply mud to her. Nicola doesn’t take the hint, and just says that he already put mud on her. Meisha quickly assures him that she gives him “grace” because of his lack of experience. She wants him to know that he can always ask her directly when it comes to questions about sex and relationships. Nicola grows defensive, insisting that he knows everything that he needs to know.
Dirty dancing?
Citing the influence of “steamy” American films, Nicola attempts a sexy dance for Meisha. In his mind, this is a display of genuine affection, so when Meisha finds it awkward, he feels “insecure” about her love for him. And that ties into a related topic.
Later …
Continuing Catholic tourism, Nicola rents a large cross. While it’s certainly not a replica of the execution device upon which their religion’s central figure died, it fits the general idea. After paying someone, Nicola and Meisha are able to carry the perpendicular wooden structure as a sort of mini-pilgrimage.
This is a reminder of what they have in common
They don’t seem to share any other interests. Their lives have been extremely different. But reveling in ultra-orthodox Catholicism is something that they have in common. And frankly, a lot of Catholic adherents would find a trip like this meaningful, even if they do not tend to be as zealous as these two.
Love?
For years and years, Meisha and Nicola told each other that they loved each other over social media. However, in person, Meisha has not said “I love you” to Nicola. And yes, he’s noticed. Especially since he’s been saying it the whole time. This is obviously making him feel immature. What gives?
Well …
“Well, certain times when I haven’t said ‘I love you’ back, I didn’t even realize that I hadn’t,” Meisha tells him. “So if I have fallen short in that regard. No. 1, I apologize and No. 2 since I got here, it’s been a different Nicola that I’ve been dealing with.”
So, yes, Meisha feels uncertain about their future
“Nicola and I have been doing much better over the last few days. But it is still hard for me to take down some of his walls that I started to put up. I have no doubt that I love this person. But it’s going to take some work. And there’s so much uncertainty about our future,” Meisha admits to the camera. “Can everything be fixed in the time I have remaining? The answer is no. We don’t have time for that. But is there enough time for me to see such light in our situation that I think that’s worth fighting for, it’s worth trying to fix on the road ahead? And that’s what I’m trying to discern right now.”
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