This Is The First 'Catfish' Intervention Ever

Every time I think I might be getting bored of the Catfish formula, MTV goes and switches things up to keep me interested, and Thursday's new episode was a perfect example of that. This time, it's not a love story that Nev and Max are chasing — it's a resolution. In the Catfish episode Thad and Sara, victim Thad already knows that Sara's a fake who's actually named Ashley, and after his online relationship with her almost destroyed his marriage, he's ready to put an end to this chapter and meet Ashley face to face for once and for all.

OK, let's put aside the fact that this guy is married and still chasing down his old internet girlfriend, because that's his deal and Thad says his marriage is now stronger than it's ever been. And together with Nev and Max, he seems determined to put this issue to rest — except the Catfish experts don't think that Thad alone is enough. So they dial up Sara... the real one.

Yup, the real Sara ends up in Texas and joins them on their journey to find Ashley, and she's even more distraught than Thad is after the way this whole thing has been affecting her life since the early 2000s. Can you blame her?! So they embark on a Catfish road trip — aka my dream vacation — end up at Ashley's, and have to go door to door to find her. Finally, they end up at Ashley's friend's house to meet up with her, and her response is the usual kind: She wanted to be someone else.

To Max, Nev, Sara, and Thad's credit, even though this woman has caused them a lot of emotional damage, they stick around and try to help her talk through the reasons why she wants to be someone else so badly. They offer their help to her, and the whole thing is really sweet... but it kinda gets ruined by what happens next.

I'd love to say that Ashley has decided to stop pretending to be Sara and has started spending the time she usually spends catfishing unsuspecting men on the internet with her 4-year-old daughter instead, but that's not exactly how this episode ends. Unfortunately, Catfish doesn't always lead to a happy ending, and this is one of those times. According to Thad, Ashley's still using Sara's photos, and Sara says all the time she's hearing from other guys who are in love with "her."

The good news? Maybe some of the guys who are being fooled by her right now will see this episode and know the truth. And honestly, Nev and Max did everything they could do.

Image: MTV