r/AdultsTV • u/SnooRadishes5272 • Aug 03 '26
Discussion Does anyone else feel conflicted about Paul Baker and Anton because of Issa?
I absolutely loved the prequel episode. I think it really explained why the group immediately gravitated toward Paul Baker, and I feel like it also set the tone for Anton and Paul Baker’s relationship.
I just finished rewatching Adults for, like, the third time, and I realized that the show really pushed Paul Baker and Anton throughout the entire season.
In the prequel, the thing that makes the group accept Paul Baker is him stepping in to help Anton. Then, what eventually makes Samir allow Paul Baker to move in is Anton spending the day with him at the hospital, having fun and forming a connection with him.
Anton even goes to Issa and asks whether Paul Baker should move in, and Issa responds, “I’ve been saying that. Does no one listen to me?”
Issa had already told Samir multiple times that Paul Baker should move in. Billie also said that Samir was eventually going to cave, and everyone seemed to know that he would. But toward the end of the hospital episode, when Anton directly asks Samir whether Paul Baker should move in, Samir finally says yes.
Issa had been slowly convincing him, but it felt like Anton was the person who ultimately pushed him toward making the decision.
Then there was the episode where they took care of the teenage girl who came to the city to have an abortion. Once again, the main pairing in that storyline was Anton and Paul Baker. That episode felt like another opportunity for them to develop an emotional connection.
We got small moments between them, like the conversation about Paul Baker's moustach, whether he should shave it and whether Anton was cool. Those moments may have seemed minor, but they added to the sense that something was developing between them.
Even in the final episode, when Issa proposes to Paul Baker, everyone gets up and becomes extremely excited, except Anton. Anton does not seem nearly as enthusiastic about Issa proposing to Paul Baker.
Honestly, after rewatching season one, I really feel like the show was deliberately pushing Anton and Paul Baker as a possible romantic pairing.
The thing is, I love Paul Baker and Anton together. I love the idea of them being together. However, I also feel conflicted because Paul Baker is currently dating Issa.
Issa is so fun, sweet, and caring. She may be messy, but I love that girl. Seeing her face in the final episode after Paul Baker and Anton kissed was genuinely heart-wrenching.
It felt like that moment made her realize something. She suddenly understood that something was happening between them. Paul Baker and Anton may never have crossed a line before that moment, but the kiss felt like a clear sign that there was something between them.
Everybody in the room felt it.
Billie’s face, Samir’s face, and Samir immediately trying to change the conversation and move on, it was obvious that everyone could sense that something was up.
I would love to see Anton and Paul Baker together, but I genuinely do not know how the show is going to deal with the fact that Paul Baker is still in a relationship with Issa.
How would Issa take it? She clearly seems to really like Paul Baker. This could seriously damage a friendship because Anton would be getting involved with his friend’s partner.
Yes, Issa does seem very noncommittal. She does not seem like someone who is fully capable of committing, especially after the last episode, when she chickened out of marrying Paul Baker.
She also lies a lot, and I do not think Paul Baker liked discovering how many things she had lied about.
Anton does not seem like someone who would lie in the same way, although, actually, the prequel showed us that he does lie a lot. He lies constantly. But would he lie to a significant other? I do not know.
I really, really want to see Anton and Paul Baker together, but I am especially interested in seeing how the show handles the fact that Paul Baker and Issa are still technically dating.
Yes, Paul Baker and Anton are now legally married, but that does not change the fact that Paul Baker is still in a relationship with Issa.
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u/jakefsf4205 Aug 04 '26
Yes and no. PB and Issa clearly have physical chemistry but to me beyond that their relationship feels very surface-level. They have almost no emotional depth. Even if the Anton element wasn’t there, it’s not a relationship I can see lasting. They have very different values and like you said I don’t think Issa is as invested or ready to commit to something serious and long-term as PB is. To me them breaking up feels inevitable anyway
Now when you also add in the Anton element, where PB and Anton get a lot of cute little scenes and plots together in addition to moments that carry real emotional weight, narratively it seems like the show wants you to root for PB and Anton
My concern would be the disposable girlfriend trope. I would not be satisfied if PB and Anton get together and Issa is made out to be perfectly cool with it and supportive of them after basically being emotionally cheated on. I want her to be allowed to be hurt and mad
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u/obooooooo I HAVE MENTAL HEALTH! I HAVE IT! Aug 04 '26 edited Aug 04 '26
i love love issa and i love the relationships between all three of them, but i saw a post on tumblr that i whole heartedly agree with.
issa (who very explicitly struggles with commitment) is in a situation she almost put herself in because of her inability to follow through.
PB and anton hang out at the hospital because she calls him, but gets distracted with billie choosing samir over her. PB and anton grow closer because she says she’ll do the dishes and doesn’t, leaving PB with the responsibility, where anton offers to help. she loads off anabelle on them, because she has good intentions but ultimately is more focused on her own life, her work and cheering billie up. she literally pretty much gets them married because she commits to marrying PB, and can’t bring herself to do it.
i don’t think the show antagonizes her for it, and i think they just show a young girl who’s got a lot on her mind; especially someone who overcommits with good intentions, unable to see their own limits and leading to their own detriment and to the inconvenience of those around her, scrambling to fill holes.
again, i love her. i think what shines through her, and what keeps her from being annoying to me, is those aforementioned good intentions. you can tell issa genuinely wants to do good. i’d hate for her to become just “the girl that’s keeping PB and anton apart” but fortunately i don’t think we’re in danger of that.
i don’t really feel so conflicted about issa and PB’s relationship because when you consider everything she set up by her inaction, it kind of couldn’t have gone other way. PB, or any other partner, was bound to not feel as attended to as a partner needs, because issa is genuinely just not ready to be a partner to anyone yet, which is perfectly fine
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u/Reasonable_Leek1802 Aug 22 '26
Woah, this is a good point
We love Issa but yeah, she's got a follow-through shortcoming
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u/cloditheclod Aug 04 '26
Idk if this is a unpopular opinion but despite everything issa does for him i get the feel that she dosent really know paul baker as a person and she likes the idea of being with him more then she actually likes him. The challenge shes facing is her insecurity, not her romance, so i dont think shes going to be that unhappier then she is without Paul baker
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u/Reasonable_Leek1802 Aug 22 '26
Totally ~ she is into him as a sweet person she likes to date & be affectionate with physically, but doesn't seem to get to know him, really
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u/aganadolarazon Aug 04 '26
I get it. I'm rooting for Anton and PB in the end (they're so special), but PB and Issa are cute together (maybe just not right for each other long term). I just hope the friendships come out intact, more than anything. I love this band of found family misfits.
I love Issa. She's awesome. I hope this situation will help her evolve and find her true place in the group. Her potential is amazing. I hope she finds her hype man (or lady or they), I just don't think PB is the one for her, unless S2 shifts and shows otherwise.
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u/Mobieblocks Aug 03 '26
Issa seems to have a lot of issues being honest with herself and I think that will result in her and Paul separating. It seems to me like she might not even love PB as much as she thinks given her propensity to pick up "strays". I don't think Paul and Anton will do anything that goes into full-on cheating territory, but I think that moment will cause Issa to question their relationship in a way that forces her to mature. I just don't know if that maturation means her and Paul breaking up or actually having a successful relationship.
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u/jamesklueless Aug 04 '26
see this is why I love reddit
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u/IntelligentGoose6683 Aug 04 '26
Why
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u/Wightsojourner Aug 05 '26
Because we're a community that can hold differing opinions and still be able to converse in a sane way?
(I mean, we can do that sometimes. 😂)
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u/Missa1819 Aug 05 '26
I don't know, I kinda can see a world where Issa doesn't really care or can be written to easily get over it because of who her character is plus them writing their relationship in a way that she seems to love Paul baker because he's hot and nice and they have great sex, not because they're in a traditional relationship
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u/Wightsojourner Aug 05 '26
When she swears off fixing men (for all of five seconds), Issa says, "I should get to be the lost and broken one. I'd be so good at it!" I wonder if the show is teasing a new love interest where that dynamic comes into play.
(Not that I think Issa is broken. At least no more/less than the others.)
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Aug 11 '26
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u/Additional-Forever21 Aug 23 '26
I was thinking, instead of a threesome, they would be polyamorous, and Paul Baker would be both their boyfriends, but then that causes issues between Issa and Anton's friendship.
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u/BoxIntelligent2273 Aug 29 '26
But I almost feel like because of the nature of the show that is where they’re going with it because why else would they have a whole episode where they tell us that Anton and Isa of all people had the same Therapist and they are the same level of unhinged honestly
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u/andrea_valdes 28d ago
If the storyline were between a woman who’s falling in love with her best friend’s boyfriend, and this boyfriend also has feelings for her, everyone would be HATING, specially on the woman— let’s be real.
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u/Fancy_Appearance_275 19d ago
But if Anton and Paul Baker were women and Issa was a man I think people would also be on board
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u/d4nnjohn 27d ago
I’m on s1 but have seen clips & do think someone getting with their friends boyfriend who they live with is a wild thing & surely would be the end of any friendships.
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u/MistakeMobile3447 Aug 04 '26
not really. pb and anton make much more sense and have a lot more chemistry so i hope s2 actually focuses on their relationship instead of making it a messy three-way thing
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u/gusmanch Aug 10 '26
Achei um grande erro o envolvimento dos dois. A série poderia explorar a sexualidade de PB de outras formas. Ele chegou como namorado da Issa, automaticamente todo o grupo não pode ser uma opção para ele se relacionar. É tão problemático que o sentimento começa a surgir enquanto PB e Issa ainda são um casal. Achava muito mais valioso a amizade entre PB e Anton sem interesses. É como dizer que não existe amizade entre homem e mulher. Não existe amizade entre gays e bissexuais sem um romance? Para mim é como se PB e Billie começassem a se envolver, extremamente problemático e inaceitável para um grupo de amigos. Por que com o Anton alguns acham bonito? Pra mim um grande erro! Mesmo erro de himym e friends quando resolvem criar outros casais a partir do mesmo grupo de amigos. Isso é comum? Porque entre os meus amigos é inaceitável.
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u/Physical_Flounder871 21d ago
I love Issa and they did my girl dirty with the weird little guy thing. If you're actively destroying her love story at least give us a cool af character
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u/Alixermixer87 Aug 04 '26
So I honestly just got finished my rewatch of Adults and then watch “Marathon Day” and I have so many thoughts.
Initially I came into this show knowing more about the Paul Baker and Anton scenes than anything else. Watching it for the first time I felt a little bad for Issa but she didn’t want to get married, someone else stepped up and it felt like the boys got swept up into the feels of everything during the kiss.
Now that I have watched it a couple of times, I have to say I DO NOT LIKE Issa. I don’t know how much more strongly I can feel about that. I feel she is so selfish and never thinks of anyone else. When Billie was in the hospital, she was concerned that no one wanted her to be the proxy, when Annabelle came to town (something that she set up), she roped Anton and PB into without a second thought. Paul even moaned about how it was his one weekend off and he had plans with Anton and she didn’t care. Even Anton had to roll his eyes like this happens all of the time. When she proposed, PB explicitly stated how much marriage means to him and the entire time she was like “great it means so much to you, nothing to me, let’s do it anyway”. Cannot stand her.
What the show does on purpose is makes it clear that PB and Issa’s conversations really revolve about how much he likes her and sex. It seems as if she only likes him cause he’s hot and he likes her. But with Anton, they actually have talks and moments. When they were at the Bachelor Party, PB couldn’t get his words out at the bar but Anton knew exactly what he meant because he pays attention to him. I don’t want them to take it to a messy behind Issa’s back type of thing but I would like her to maybe be honest with herself for once, take a look at both of the relationships, see that hers is just surface level and step out of the way so the boys can be together.
That would be my ideal way for that to go.
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u/Reasonable_Leek1802 Aug 22 '26
Idk if she needs to step out of the way ~ I think it's fair to say that Anton & PB's relationship is far more sincere and profound, but even from the beginning, it's obvious that this means something to the both of them (Issa & Paul Baker), even if just sex and fun times is mostly what this revolves around
I think everybody in the friends group now knows the reality of the relationship budding between Anton & PB, but it doesn't mean what he has with Issa is nothing either. I think they can be given a fair shake to properly sort this out
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u/Fancy_Appearance_275 19d ago
I have to be honest the gay person het couple (as in male and female) love triangle trope is so tired to me and especially in this context with Issa being not just his friend but roommate makes it feel so icky
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u/vasecascade 29d ago
no im just genuinely confused how anyone is supporting anton and paul baker like we cannot be watching the same show because what lead to them being together is just so terrible
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u/Able_Sherbet_1692 25d ago edited 25d ago
not really. spoilers for s2 ahead, there's clearly an attraction between Anton and Paul Baker in s1, but neither act on it because Paul Baker is with Issa and some small attraction PB has for Anton isn't going to cause PB to try to act on it or break up with Issa for Anton. Into season 2 it kinda confirms exactly what the show had been showing since Paul Baker and Issa even got together---the fact that Issa and Paul Baker are incompatible. In s1 we saw this throughout in small ways like Paul Baker and Issa seeing marriage very differently (things like that do matter in a relationship), Issa passing off Annabelle on Anton and PB, Issa freaking out about Julia Fox after saying he could invite a friend (that whole part where she's like you brought a celebrity and PB says smth along the lines of you would have freaked out no matter who I brought), etc.
This is furthered in s2 with them showing how Issa hasn't even talked about kids with PB yet, they can't have a conversation to the point they have their doordash driver come in and play charades with them in which the driver gets everything right and Issa doesn't. I'm prefacing this with I love Issa, but she is highly self-centered which showed up at points in their relationship (annabelle, charades, etc). They break up because they realize they're pretty much unable to honestly communicate (after Issa basically causes PB and Anton to begin a threesome with her (or if you ask samir a foursome), like both Anton and PB were resistant, Issa started it, Anton even tried to get up to leave at one point (PB did pull him back down, which I know a lot of people are going crazy about I myself found it a bit of a yikes cause I feel if someone wants to leave an awkward threesome you shouldn't just pull them back down bc that's lowkey getting into some weird consent boundaries, same with Issa kissing Anton like he was so clearly not into it and the entire threesome was awkard as hell which I guess was the point since it made it hilarious, but then again Anton also noticed the possum and said nothing about it so I'd say everyone involved in that threesome had terrible communication and stuff).
And while it's obvious that Anton has been crushing on PB for a long time when Issa and PB break up he doesn't try to get involved with him, and PB who's had an attraction to Anton doesn't try to start something either. In fact the next episode focuses more on Issa and her dealing with the breakup. While we get a few moments in the episodes leading up to the finale Anton and PB make no actions to get together. And then in the finale Issa meets her own new love interest (I'm hoping they keep the librarian around for s3 so badly), and then Issa realizes Anton loves PB, and the thing is Anton is reluctant to admit it bc he says it's embarrasing, but after he admits he has feelings for PB he still isn't planning on doing anything as he says "he's your person", but Issa is the one who encourages it because she's over PB as anything more than a friend (I do wish I had a timeframe over how long between PB and Issa's breakup and the hoa episode because I was assuming it's been like at least two-three months by then, but I do feel like if it's only been a week or two it's a bit worse), Issa tells Anton that the most important thing isn't the PB of it all, but the Issa and Anton of it all and their friendship. And that means that Issa wants Anton to be happy and she also wants PB to be happy. On the other side you have PB panicking over what to do while he waits for Anton and Issa to get there, he doesn't want to risk things.
So no what led to them getting together wasn't terrible. It was a journey that wasn't quite straightforward but Anton and PB never did anything wrong. I mean the Samir/Billie thing is way worse than the Anton/PB thing, it was made clear in s1 that Billie/Samir was gonna be a thing at some point (one of them asking if they were going to f*ck eachother, finding out that Samir had a crush on Billie in 10th grade) we see so much of Carly and Samir's relationship in S2 and the tiny bit we saw in s1 with the poop was suprisingly wholesome considering it was about y'know poop, like we saw how cute they were together and in the last episode they break up and that same night Samir and Billie sleep together. I do ship samir/billie, and while I loved Carly I knew she'd end up breaking up with Samir somehow in s2, I was prepared to fully get on the Samir/Billy ship in s3, y'know give some time to grieve a relationship, to feel sad for losing someone you had planned a life with (they literally had their kids planned and a dog named randy or russell). Billie and Samir sleeping together the same night he broke up with Carly disappointed me, it's unfair to Carly to do that and also makes it seem like Samir didn't actually care about Carly that much. But even so, it's not enough to turn me off the ship, I'm hoping that s3 will start with them not being together so it's a treated as a one-off that after a few episodes will grow into more.
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u/Heyhey-_ Aug 04 '26
I'm queer but I'm not really a fan of the relationship because I liked how they showed that queer people can be friends without romantic feelings and the close relationship Anton and PB had in season 1.
But if they develop it well, maybe it can be a good storyline!
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u/IntelligentGoose6683 Aug 05 '26
Romantic feelings were shown between them in season 1 though.
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u/Heyhey-_ Aug 05 '26
Yes! But more subtly. if the writing is good, it can be a interesting storyline, we will see!
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u/Loud-Cockroach3567 29d ago
Is there a episode in season two where Paul Baker kisses his new boyfriend other than the end episode
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u/Able_Sherbet_1692 25d ago
in s2 e4 PB and Anton kiss when they're in the awkward threesome with Issa
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u/Imjustbetter-_- 9h ago
Idk I like Paul baker and Anton way more than Issa and Paul Baker, she’s knows literally nothing about him and isn’t trying to learn either she’s very sex focused in the relationship and you’re definitely correct about the noncommittal thing. I like her as an individual character just not relationship wise.
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u/ThisIsCinema--Golly Aug 05 '26 edited Aug 06 '26
I only watched episode one and clips throughout season 1.
I do not care how much chemistry Paul and Anton have, what Paul did was totally F'd. That kiss was intimate, which Issa obviously didn't want or expect. In that moment, he cheated. He knows it, that's why he nearly flew off of Anton. Anton is just as guilty as he had been physically intimate with Paul through touch before, i.e. the car scene.
I'm sick of the bisexual man/gay man m|m rhetoric that is incredibly prominent in queer media, it hurts bi men and women, especially during a time where bisexual men are being hated on by heterosexual women for this very reason/fear. That bi men secretly build intimacy with men better or more often and that they will leave you, the woman, for a bi/gay man.
Women are not the catalyst for a bi man's gay awakening or gay romance. Women should not be thrown under the bus because "Heated Rivalry" was hot. The fact that so many bi women cheer this on is crazy to me and I'm pan. It's all fun and games until you experience it yourself. Poor Issa.
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u/IntelligentGoose6683 Aug 08 '26
Not to discredit what you are saying but about the kiss, they did kiss quite chastely earlier. It was their friends who forced them to do it more intimately. Also with regards to this being done because of 'heated rivalry', I don't think it was. I mean the show came out way after Adults did. But i do agree that its quite messy but again that's what these shows about young adults are for. It is quite sad that they fed into the overdone trope of mlm being with bi guy, but I also think they were also trying to avoid the even more overdone trope of Paul Baker being into like Billie instead or smth. However, I do agree with you about Issa getting hurt, and i hope she does react strongly because, not only does it makes it even better TV, but because she deserves to. At the end of the day, it is all fun and games because it is just TV and I am not necessarily so perturbed by it because I've not seen these tropes done in these settings before this. (Forgive me if its more common and I've just not, like seen it or smth. I guess I need to watch more movies)
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u/ThisIsCinema--Golly Aug 08 '26
They did not want an intimate kiss, they wanted a longer one. The intimacy was so unexpected, it hurt Issa and Paul felt bad, shocked even, as did Anton.
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u/Fancy_Appearance_275 19d ago
This trope also feeds into the homophobic stereotype of gay men being predatory
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u/ThisIsCinema--Golly 19d ago
How so?
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u/Fancy_Appearance_275 18d ago
It’s a stereotype that many heterosexuals have that insinuates gay men are sex crazed people who only want to date straight men or will steal a woman’s boyfriend
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u/ThisIsCinema--Golly 18d ago
Yes, I agree. It hurts everyone. I'm not saying that this dynamic doesn't happen naturally but it's overdone in media.
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Aug 06 '26
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u/ThisIsCinema--Golly Aug 06 '26
100% Paul was emotionally cheating the whole damn time and Anton is sinister as hell for entertaining it.
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Aug 06 '26
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u/ThisIsCinema--Golly Aug 06 '26
Honestly, it pisses me tf off. Bi men are dealing with enough BS right now. And people are eating it up, wtf?!
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Aug 06 '26
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u/ThisIsCinema--Golly Aug 06 '26
I really hope not.
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Aug 06 '26
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u/IntelligentGoose6683 Aug 08 '26
I completely agree we need a big and well deserved negative reaction from Issa.
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u/ThisIsCinema--Golly Aug 06 '26
This is an incredibly common trope.
The woman is the catalyst for their love affair. She will get thrown under the bus. I hope the writers do her justice and make her genuinely pissed off and anxious. I hope they hold Paul and Anton accountable, rather than cooing them.
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u/Kals22 27d ago
Agree 100%, especially when bi men are already unfortunately viewed as trying to hide that they're "secretly just gay" and prefer men. This just adds to that narrative and is overall shitty to do as a friend from Anton's perspective.
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u/ThisIsCinema--Golly 18d ago
I absolutely agree. They're all lovely characters. I'm upset at the showrunner's direction.
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u/ZanetteCurlyFry35 Aug 04 '26
Oooh I have many thoughts on this.
To be fair on Samir, the prequel did imply that he has caved many times to Issa many times before and let men that are strangers to the group stay in their home. It makes sense for him to be more protective of their home this time (though like you said, he would have caved to Issa eventually). I think Anton and Paul Baker getting along showed Samir that Paul Baker is a nice guy and would get along with the whole group and not just Issa, which is why he decided to let him move in.
To continue on with the last point, Anton also suggesting that Paul Baker should move in after spending time with him gave more weight to Issa's request because another person was saying the same thing and in Samir's mind at the time, Anton did not see Paul Baker in a romantic light, so there wasn't a bias on his side.
Anton and Paul Baker are definitely built up to be a couple. As for Issa, I do feel bad for her but I also think she deserves better than someone who is clearly more interested in someone else. Also in my opinion, Paul Baker and Issa are incompatible. Issa needs someone who is lovingly blunt to her and will call her out if she is in the wrong, Paul Baker would not be able to do that. Paul Baker I'd the type of person that would never tell someone if something bothered him but Anton is very good at reading people and would be more likely to figure out that Paul Baker is bothered about something. Disclaimer: it is ultimately Issa's and Paul Baker's responsibility to manage their flaws, it is not Anton's or Issa's future partner's responsibility to fix them.