Season 4 Episode 9 of “Catfish“ introduces us to Blaire. Blaire reveals she has had a tough few years. She was kicked out of her house and living in friends’ cars, unable to land a job. At one point it got so bad that Blaire was contemplating ending her life, and of course, this is when Markie came into her life.
Blaire, who grew up in New York, met Markie, a Californian high school student, over Instagram. Over text and the phone, Markie helped Blaire fight through her tough time and gave her “a sense of purpose.”
However, Markie always found an excuse whenever Blaire asked to video chat with her (surprise, surprise!) Once Blaire had been working for a while, they eventually decided they would meet in person, so Blaire bought Markie a plane ticket from California to New York. Unfortunately, although not too surprisingly, Markie suddenly disappeared the week she was supposed to come and visit.
This is when things get interesting.
Blaire began getting calls and texts from Markie’s sister asking if she had seen her. Later it is revealed that Markie told Blaire that she had apparently been “kidnapped.”
Oh, and it doesn’t end there.
A week later Markie calls Blaire from a mental institution telling her that she no longer wants to continue their relationship as she has “feelings for her ex.”
Luckily, Blaire, who is now living in San Antonio, Texas, managed to move on from this rollercoaster and eventually met a new girl named Katarina. When her and Katarina went Facebook official with their relationship, Markie instantly went ballistic and told Blaire she couldn’t be in a relation, but also that she didn’t want to be in a relationship with her.
Yet, after all this Blaire still wants to know whom this Markie girl really is. Lucky for us, that makes for an intriguing story.
So Nev and Max’s snooping begins.
They go through her Facebook and Instagram and point out numerous pictures and captions that make Markie out to be a very “dark and twisted” individual. They ensure to use pictures of her dressed up on Halloween (covered in fake blood) to really drive this point home. While Nev and Max may be really playing up this darker side, it doesn’t help that Markie herself hashtags several pictures with things such as #troubled #scary and #terrifying.
They are able to contact one of Markie’s ex-boyfriends, Alex, who says that Markie used to lie about “pretty much everything” to him. They also are able to contact Chris, who is a classmate of Markie. He reveals that she hasn’t been at school recently because she got in trouble for bringing a switchblade to class. He also reveals that she has been skyping some girl she refers to as her “bae” all the time, despite the fact that she told Blaire she didn’t know how to video-chat.
So now to tell Blaire…
Nev and Max tell her that Markie seems to be who she says she is. However, they have found out she is very troubled and a compulsive liar. Also, the apparent “kidnapping” was Markie running away for attention. In addition, they learned that Markie has been in a relationship with another girl.
Blaire is upset that Markie “took her out of a dark place just to put her back.” It is definitely hard to understand why Blaire would want to continue connecting with Markie after all of the disturbing facts Nev and Max have uncovered (bringing a switchblade to school?!?!!)
The next morning, Blaire, Nev and Max make their way out to California to meet face-to-face with Markie. However, Markie decides to stop answering their calls and texts, which enrages Nev and Max.
After tracking the wrong address, they use Instagram’s geo-tagging feature to track down the street her house is on. Blaire remembers that her family has a red pick-up truck, and using this information they are able to locate Markie.
The team is first introduced to Markie’s father, Mark. Yes, his name is Mark. He reveals that Markie has told him all about her situation with Blaire, but unfortunately Markie is not home (again, surprise, surprise!)
After leaving to hang out at a local park, Markie finally calls Blaire and tells her she will come meet them.
The weirdest thing is that Markie comes smiling from ear-to-ear saying she is trying to contain herself from jumping into Blaire’s arms. She is literally acting like none of the kidnapping, mental institution, ex-girlfriend, and avoiding she has been doing has ever happened; Blaire on the other hand, not so ecstatic.
Scratch that, the weirdest thing is what happened next.
Markie, still smiling, goes off on a rant about how ‘The Man’ persuaded her to run away due to some “private issues.” When asked who ‘The Man’ is, Markie says she is unable to name names.
Next, she tells Blaire that she had a dream she was going to die in New York (if she went to meet her). When she told ‘The Man’ this, he said that she needed to “repent her sins” and therefore she had to run off into the mountains to save her life.
This girl is full on crazy and I am pretty sure Nev and Max realizes this and therefore when Markie confesses her love for Blaire, Nev interjects and recounts all of the horrible things she has done to Blaire.
Nev and Max leave them to have some Catfish “private time,” which of course means completely caught on camera conversation.
Blaire ends up giving Markie an ultimatum, saying if she stops lying they can remain friends. Two months later, Blaire and Markie have continued their friendship. Markie is in much needed counseling to help with her lying and Blaire is planning to move with her new girlfriend, in search of stability.
It is strange seeing there are people like Markie out there, but I guess if there was a place to find them, it is in the mysterious depths of the Internet.
From the producers of the acclaimed documentary film, “Catfish,” comes a new MTV series that brings together couples who’ve interacted solely through their LCD screens. Over the course of months or years – these romantics have become smitten – but what will happen when they meet in real life for the first time?
In each episode, with the guidance and help of the star of the “Catfish” movie, Nev Schulman, and his filmmaking pal, Max Joseph, a hopeful romantic partner will go on an emotional journey to discover the truth about their significant other. Has that object of affection been telling the truth? Will true love truly blossom? When that fateful knock on the front door finally comes – only one thing is certain – that these incredible voyages will be filled with mystery, uncertainty, forgiveness, joy, and sometimes, even shocking revelations.
catfish [kat-fish] verb: To pretend to be someone you’re not online by posting false information, such as someone else’s pictures, on social media sites usually with the intention of getting someone to fall in love with you.