Tonight on MTV their series about online dating, the show called CATFISH returns with a fifth episode titled “Tacie and Sammy”. On tonight’s episode, Tracie Thoms has an unusual encounter with a fan.
On the last episode called “Lucille and Kidd Cole”; Lucille was unhappy when she searched for answers after never been paid when she took a job with music producer Kidd Cole, who one day just disappeared. She asked Nev and Max to help to finally get the answers she needed. Was Kidd Cole the person she was expecting to see? No way, he was a scammer and two months later Max and Niev checked in with Lucille and learned that she was going to college to become a criminal justice major, and she just saw online that Kidd is still scamming people and was now claiming that he co-produced Beyonce’s “Drunk In Love.” Did you watch last week’s episode? If you missed it we have a full and detailed recap, right here for you.
On tonight’s episode Tracie Thoms is an actress, she develops an emotional connection with a fan named Sammie. Wondering who Sammie is she asks Nev and Max to help her out, to see if Sammie is who he says he is. Will Tracie get what she’s expecting or will she be left disappointed?
Tonight’s episode of Catfish: The TV Show airs on MTV at 10 PM EST and is going to be exciting, don’t forget to come right back to this spot and watch the show with us.
LIVE RECAP
Nev and Max are in Washington DC. Nev does a bad rap. Max laughs. They start up a Skype. It’s Tracie – an actress from LA. She was in Rent on Broadway and in Death Proof. She says she had an online experience that haunts her and says her Catfish is not romantic. She says she met a fan on Twitter – Sammie – that turned into a superfan that promoted and helped her. She says she liked her. She says this girl was very clever and detailed in her deceit.
Tracie says Sammie set up multiple accounts and even killed one off to elicit sympathy. She wants to know if Sammie is still around and is okay. They Skype with Tracie. Nev tells her that he’s a big fan of hers. They ask what Sammie did. Tracie says she was working on Raze – an Indie film – and that Sammie was helping her with posts and videos. She says she was going to hire her and then she introduced her to her friend Reese who also helped.
Reese said she hoped she gets to meet her before it’s too late, then said she had a cancer. Then Sammie told her that Reese died. She says that it was upsetting then Sammie asked how she was doing and then Tracie says there was something not right because she should have been more upset. Then dead Reese favorited a Tweet about her own death then unfavorited. Tracie says she dug and found out Reese never existed and that Sammie made her up then killed her for attention.
Tracie says part of her is really worried about the girl and says it got really dark and twisted. She wants to know if she is still stalking her or others. Nev says they can fly home to LA and meet with her and work up a strategy. They make a plan to meet and talk. Nev says this is new and interesting. They head off to the airport and catch a flight for home. They are at LAX and then on the streets.
Max says social media makes celebs much more accessible to fans. They head to Tracie’s place and sit down for a talk. She has screen grabs and all kinds of evidence. She says she has a soft spot in her heart for Sammie. Tracie says she was emotionally invested in Reese’s personal life. She says that her friend Lotti – a producer – was also talking to both of the girls. She says they were very helpful because of their social media promotion of the films.
She shows them a video from a funeral that Sammie sent them where she was behind a car. Then she tweets a car banner that cars put on it in a funeral procession. She zoomed in and saw the name of the funeral home and called them. There was no Reese there. Then she asked Sammie for an obituary and she says she doesn’t have one. She says that Sammie also had a “death scare” of her own. She shows this to them as well.
There was a Marissa Campaign person that became Reese with a different Twitter handle. Then she says the Twitter handle was deleted and said it didn’t exist. She says she was watching stuff deleting as she was viewing it. She says their last communication was she asking Sammie to Twit pic the obituary. She says she just wants to look her in the face and tell her that she by herself was enough and ask why she was doing all this.
Tammie says she may be talking to her when she’s talking to other fans and wants to know if she’s stalking her. Nev says he gets this and he asks her to send them all of the proof. They promise to get to work and head out. Max says it’s clear how unnerved Tammie has been by this whole experience. Nev says he’s worried that Sammie might be dangerous.
Back at Catfish HQ, they dig into the evidence to see if Sammie is still out there. They have all of the info that Tammie has and start looking for Sammie. They start with her email address and phone number on Spokeo. They come up with the name Samantha Davis outside Philadephia in Ardmore, PA. They then go to Facebook and find the same girl as Samantha Regina. They see she has a son and is 25 and is bi-sexual.
They read that her parents are both deaf and her profile says “she’s really good with celebrities.” Then they find a different pic on Twitter with the same background. They see that she’s actively after other celebrities. She has a fan page for a Broadway star. Max says she’s a serial superfan seeking validation from celebrities. They head to her Pinterest page and find her Marissa Campaign page that is not stalking Liz – a finalist on the Glee Project.
Max says this is creepy and they wonder if Marissa is still in contact with Sammie. They contact Marissa and tell her about the Catfish episode. They also alert Liz. Then they get a call from Marissa von Briecken. She says she got the Facebook message and she says she does have a fan named Samantha Davis. Turns out she’s in LA too and they make a plan to meet Marissa in the morning.
They are worried about what Sammie might be capable of. They head to meet with Marissa and Lotti and ask about Samantha. Marissa says Samantha is one of her most ardent social media fans. Lotti says she knows about that account. She pulls out letters with poems and fan fiction from Samantha. The poem is in the shape of a heart. It’s a very romantic poem. Marissa is looking very uncomfortable.
Nev asks if Marissa ever wrote back. She says she never did because it was so intense. Lotti fills Marissa in on her and Tracie’s dealings with Sammie. Marissa says it’s been a few months since she’s interacted with her from her Twisted Lizbian account. Lotti opens her Twitter and sees that Sammie is following her on Twitter.
Nev and Max show up to Tracie’s rehearsal. She’s singing and it’s amazeballs. She comes to chat with them and asks what’s going on. They tell her they talked to Lotti and met Marrisa from The Glee Project. They tell her that Sammie was her mega fan when she was on the Glee Project. They show her the letters about how hard she loves and how she doesn’t want to sound like a creeper.
Tracie says Whooo. Max says the girl is very good at expressing herself. The letter says she loves hard and never goes away. They show her Sammie’s current social media pages. They go to see if Sammie is following Tracie on her new profiles and see that she has. Tracie says she may have responded if she tweeted her. Nev says the girl knows she hurt Tracie and is still lurking around.
Tracie is concerned about whether Sammie might be dangerous. She says she wants to get it out if that makes sense. They decide to Facebook Sammie. Nev messages her and says they are with Tracie and want her side of the story. He asks her to call him. They say they need to be ready to get on a plane and go to PA if they hear from her. Tracie says she’s a little worried.
At Nev’s they check Facebook and then one pops up. She tells them her heart dropped to the floor and she’s nervous but sent her phone number so they can call. They call her. Nev asks if it’s Sammie and she says yeah. She sounds hesitant. They thank her for responding. He says he knows this may bring up difficult feelings and she says she’s scared and doesn’t know what to say.
He asks if they can bring Tracie and come talk to her. She says she doesn’t know. She hems and haws and says she thought Tracie didn’t want anything to do with her after what happened. Nev says it will be uncomfortable but these are situations that teach us things and she finally agrees. They call Tracie to let her know. They tell her that Sammie is nervous, but has agreed. They agree to meet at LAX.
The guys pack up and head off and Nev kisses his GF and Max says – ewww. They meet Tracie at the terminal and head in with paps flashing pics of them. They shoot some funny footage on the plane and then land in Phillie to look at the dark side of superfans. Tracie talks more about the fake cancer issue but says she feels some compassion for Sammie despite this.
They head into Ardmore, PA. Tracie says it’s not just Twitter, it’s her life and is real because on the other end, there’s a person. They pull in at a little diner and park. Tracie says she’s going to just try and let it happen. Tracie is freaking out a little. Nev heads inside to see if Sammie is there but says she’s not. He says it’s after lunch and the place is empty. Tracie says she feels like a complete chump.
Tracie asks what if she stands them up but then someone comes walking up out from under the bridge. It’s Sammie. She approaches cautiously and says hi. Nev shakes her hand and so does Max. Then she and Tracie look at each other and Sammie says it’s nice to see her. Tracie asks if her plan was to give Reese cancer and kill her. Sammie says it was her cousin’s funeral that she filmed.
The four stand in front of the diner and talk. Max asks if they can sit down and talk and they head inside. Max asks Sammie to tell them who she is. She says she’s Sammie and is an only child, a loner that grew up in this small town. She says she’s always been active on the internet making friends moreso than in real life.
Nev asks about her sexuality and she says she’s gay but kept it under wraps but ended it after her son was born. They ask her about Marissa and she says she started the campaign to get her on Glee after she got voted out. They ask if she’s attracted to Tracie and she says no but that attention from a celebrity online makes you feel special.
She says setting up the Reese account was just a way to get double attention from Tracie. She says she always intended to kill off Reese. Nev asks if she ever thought it was wrong and she says no but she felt bad after she got caught. Tracie says it was painful for her and says she gave her a lot of energy. She says she would have had to have kept the dead friend thing going forever.
Nev says she got genuine attention by helping them and being the person she is. Nev says she should have self worth about that. Nev asks to talk again tomorrow about steps forward. Tracie says that was so weird and the girl was guarded. Max says she seems out of touch and doesn’t know things are wrong until she’s told. Nev says they can help her change her life and that Tracie has the key. Tracie says she hopes so.
At the hotel, Nev gets a text from Sammie that says she didn’t know how to react. She invites him to come to her house. Tracie and the other two pull up at her house. Tracie says today she wants to listen. FWIW, this girl seems shy and kind of sad and I think they are being kid of mean to her. Tracie has success and a career and this poor girl has nothing and didn’t really hurt her.
Sammie tells them she was thinking about why she chose Tracie. She says she saw her like a big sister because she is an only child and doesn’t have a lot of support in real life. She says creating Reese was someone to fangirl with her and that was the point she went overboard. Sammie says she didn’t have any caring or sympathy in her life.
Tracie says she never thought about it that way. Max asks if she’s been able to go to her parents and Sammie says they wold not understand. Tracie says the reason people respond to her online is because of her. Tracie tells her that she is enough, is talented and has a lovely and amazing mind. Tracie tells her to take that creativity and write and make short film and get attention for that.
Max says she’s clearly a writer. Nev says that there is something interesting about her and her story being gay with deaf parents and having a BF and a child. He says that’s a good start for a story about someone like her. She says she likes that and maybe one day could create something. She says that what they have give her is a wake up, mind expanding thing.
Sammie admits that it’s brutal what she did and says she’s truly sorry. She says she’s glad she got to apologize to her face to face. Tracie accepts her apology. She gives Sammie a hug. Tracie tells her it was nice to meet her and she walks them out. She thanks them and says it was kind of fun. Nev says he looks forward to reading or seeing something from her. Tracie hugs her again and they go.
This was maybe the oddest Catfish episode ever.
One month later, the guys call Tracie on Skype. She says the biggest learning moment was from Sammie and says she’s creative and talented and she hopes to be buying one of her books one day. They call Sammie and ask about her son. She says it’s good and nice weather. They ask about her social media and she says she’s not following Tracie or Lotti anymore. Sammie says it taught her about herself and she says she’s been writing a lot and says it’s a drama-comedy thing.
Nev says he hopes to see her soon and they ring off.
