[ Well, Mark doesn't think he's here to entertain at all. Really he's just been stumbling through this, but with each passing day he does seem to be stumbling a little less, and that feels like kind of a victory in and of itself.

Case in point: that he can chat with Dorothea pretty easily, overly cheesy lines aside. ]

It is, isn't it? It's kind of a lot, but I guess once you get used to it it isn't so bad... I mean, we know we're all gonna be paired up with someone here. It isn't an endless search. I guess there's a kind of comfort to that?

[ A beat. ]

Even if it doesn't work out... at least it's an experience?

[ And not a bad one, from his tone. There are things that can be so much worse than this... The novelty is interesting, at least. ]