Woman agreed to a second date until the guy assigned her 'homework' — subscribe to Netflix and watch 'Stranger Things.' She passed
The red flags had already started to appear on the first date but the 'homework' was the last straw.
A 31-year-old woman (u/Round-Worldliness192) is forced to wonder whether she would ever land a perfect date in her life after she rejected her last date due to something that seemed petty to her. With most of her friends already married, she felt "desperate" for a partner. But as soon as she met him, she started noticing some red flags. Her breaking point came when he assigned her "homework": subscribe to Netflix and watch the first season of “Stranger Things” so she could understand a Stranger Things-themed escape room. In a September 20, 2026, Reddit post that has tallied more than 4,600 upvotes, she elaborated on the whole episode.
AIO for rejecting a guy (38M) because he assigned me (31F) homework for our second date (get Netflix and watch Stranger Things) while we were on our first? I’m 31 and most of my friends are married so I’m desperate but I feel like most dates make me feel brain dead.
by u/Round-Worldliness192 in AmIOverreacting
Dating a dud
The first red flag appeared when he recommended a sports bar for their first date. Instead of suggesting somewhere else (I also suggested we go somewhere else), he had me stand around with him waiting for a table," the woman said. She also felt like the date wasn't completely honest about himself, since there were "inconsistencies" about his background. But what he did before the second date was the final straw.
He declared that he wanted to take her to a Stranger Things-themed escape room and asked her to see its first season on Netflix before the date so she could understand the theme. While she remained tight-lipped about her feelings, he also urged her to accompany him to an “upscale” restaurant, where they made $12 guacamole in front of the customers, which she said she was not "exactly excited about either." "I realized I was already dreading the second date and didn’t actually want to do any of this. So I told him I wasn’t interested," she concluded.
Desperation is not the answer
Nearly everyone who looks for a compatible dating partner is looking for one thing: a love that lasts. However, research suggests this long-lasting love cannot be found when looked for in desperation. In a new study, cited by NBC News, University of Toronto’s Dr. Stephanie Spielmann and her team of researchers found that people who fear being single often settle for less in love; they're more likely to cling to unhappy relationships and more willing to date duds, exactly what happened with this 31-year-old woman.
According to Match’s 2025 “Singles In America” survey, cited by Forbes, 90% of singles reported physical chemistry as a crucial factor in relationships, with 72% of people saying they can gauge physical chemistry within the first three dates. Other important traits included kindness and empathy (48%), physical attraction (39%), and shared values (35%).
It is okay to be single
Readers received her story with mixed reactions. Many questioned the compatibility of their relationship from the very beginning, while others urged her to not try to match her married friends’ timelines. u/Text_based_account commented, “Don’t date while desperate.” u/Positive-sun-5943 added, “Child, being single is a perfectly fine choice.” u/Creative_tone_9241 said, “Who waits an hour and a half for a table at a sports bar? That’s ridiculous. I would’ve left right there.”
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