After the first episode, the main item I had taken away was how smart the couple at the centre of this cult are. They know exactly what they are doing and are, in a very manipulative and negative way, very emotionally intelligent as they now exactly what to say and how to approach issues in a way that is wholly to the benefit of themselves and their organization. At the same time, they ensure that the customer/victim thinks that everything is being driven by them and their decisions.
Their technique, it seems to me, is to throw everything back upon the victim/customer. They agree that their desires (a life partner with whom you are both totally compatible with each other), are right and valid but everything is put back upon the customer/victim. All elements of success are put down to them following the approaches and instructions laid down by the couple; all elements of failure are down to the customer/victim – they did something wrong/did not follow the instructions accurately/did something that they should not/were not committed enough. The list is (inevitably) endless. All the pressure is put upon these very susceptible people, and it seemed to take away a good deal of independence of thought from them.
The most grimly fascinating part of this documentary was the astonishing amount of filmed evidence that was available – every single ‘lesson’, meeting, ‘therapy’ session seems to have been recorded even the most revealing ones between the couple, Jeff and Shaleila where one would have thought it would be very ill-advised for them to be recorded. But the fact that they were does make sense in that the couple were/are so convinced of their rightness that they cannot seem to conceive that what they say and do could ever be regarded in a bad light.
Te third and final episode was somewhat more positive in that it showed that a number of the victims had been able to reclaim themselves, their personalities and their lives but I wish there had been more exploration of the couple at the heart of this. Perhaps that is another documentary waiting to be made. It is very disconcerting, to put it mildly. To understand that the organization is still going strong and one can only hope that any police investigations will be ongoing and in depth.